


After The Fire

by Clea2011



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, False Accusations, Heartbreak, M/M, Makeup, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, apparent infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clea2011/pseuds/Clea2011
Summary: “Well,” Arthur said as he stood at the end of the aisle beside Merlin. “Look at this.  Never thought we’d be here.”Merlin didn’t answer.  It was too hard to stop himself from saying that he’d always thought that they would.  Be there.  In a church, in front of a minister. Together.Just not like this.In which Arthur and Merlin have a horrible break up. A year later they're best man and man of honour respectively at Lance and Gwen's wedding.  And they can deal with that, they really can.





	After The Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDragon/gifts).



> Please see the end notes for spoilery warnings - there's nothing major, but I'm aware triggers are different for everyone. Do let me know if anything needs adding to the list.
> 
> TheDragon, thank you so much for all your prompts. I've gone with your break-up idea, although I'm afraid it drifted away a little from the prompt. I've tried to put in quite a few of your tags and also plenty of angst. I do hope you like what I've come up with. I hope you've had a very happy holidays, and wish you much happiness for 2018.
> 
> Thank you so much to the mods for keeping this wonderful fest going and for being so patient with my failure to meet the deadline. Huge thanks also to Katie for cleaning this up for me in record time (my punctuation is a lost cause) and to LFB and Polo for all the encouragement and support.

To Arthur the relatively short flight home from Brussels felt as if it was taking forever.

The conference that he and Morgana had been attending had finished sooner than expected. So much so that they were able to sneak out at the end and fly home a day early. Which meant that he could sleep in his own bed that night, curled up with his lover rather than alone in a cold and empty hotel room.

He’d probably be back too late for him to take Merlin out to dinner. Still, they could order in. There were distinct advantages to ordering in…

“Oh stop smiling!” Morgana sighed. “You being so loved up and happy makes us sad singletons just feel even sadder, you know?”

Arthur couldn’t help it. He _was_ happy. Happier than he’d ever been in his life. “Sorry.” But he wasn’t even slightly sorry.

“Have you called him?” Morgana asked, smiling back at him fondly because really she loved that he was happy and Arthur knew it. “You should give him a chance to tidy up.”

Merlin, Arthur’s boyfriend, centre of his universe and source of his perpetual happiness, was not a tidy person. With Arthur away for a few days, Merlin would have turned their flat into a disaster zone. Clearing up was something that he did at the last possible moment, having taken every opportunity and made every excuse not to put anything away or to tidy in any way shape or form. Arthur could imagine the horrified expression on Merlin’s face at seeing Arthur back early, and the thought of all the frantic excuses and desperate attempts to rush around and get the flat vaguely tidy that would ensue just brought an even wider smile to Arthur’s face.

“He loves surprises.”

Morgana rolled her eyes. “You just love watching him squirm.” She took a closer look at her brother, then smacked him on the arm. “Oh Arthur, you’re nauseating. You know that, right? You two are the soppiest pair. I don’t know why you’re not married already!”

Arthur didn’t say anything, just smirked at her.

“What? Oh, what are you up to? Tell me now! Or I’ll just ask Mordred, he’ll know.”

Mordred was Arthur’s PA. He was the best PA Arthur had ever had. He’d been really efficient when Arthur had called him to ask for help with his plans to propose to Merlin. There was a bottle of champagne chilling at the back of the fridge where Merlin would never look. A stack of files had been transferred over to Arthur’s personal storage so that Arthur could work at home. Arthur trusted him with the password because Mordred would _never_ go into the private area. There were tickets booked for a long weekend away in Paris… Yes, Mordred was very efficient. And he was so trustworthy that he’d probably just suffer Morgana’s prying and never give away what was going on no matter what she did or said.

“Leave Mordred alone. I’m not having him resigning just because you’re bullying him,” Arthur warned. “And because you’ll find out anyway, yes, I’m going to propose. Happy?”

Morgana was smiling from ear to ear, unable to hide _exactly_ how happy that news made her. She reached over and hugged him, the gesture made slightly awkward by the armrest of the plane between them. “About time! That’s great news, Arthur! Party to celebrate, yes?”

“If he says yes.”

“Of course he’s going to say yes! He adores you… god knows why, but he does. Aww, my baby brother’s getting married! I need to ring Gwen, we’ll sort the party for you.”

Arthur had known she’d react exactly like that. “Let me ask him first. And we’re going away for a few days…”

“Perfect! We’ll arrange it for your return. A surprise for my new brother to be! Oh, I’m so pleased! This is the best news, Arthur. I’m giving you away of course…”

Their father had died the previous year, which had led to the pair of them taking over his company. Arthur thought they were doing a good job and hoped that their father would be proud of what they’d done. He’d liked Merlin, and would have approved of the step Arthur was about to take. Well, Arthur hoped he would, anyway.

He smiled at Morgana. “I suppose I have no say in the matter?”

She shrugged, laughing at him. “Do you ever? Oh, I’m so happy for you, Arthur. This is the best news in ages. You need to call me as soon as it’s official so that I can start planning everything!”

“Fine.” Arthur could see his wedding running away from him before it had even started. He settled back in his seat. “You just do everything, that’ll be great. Just tell us when we need to turn up.”

“I will! Damn, hurry up and ask him, Arthur! I want to tell Gwen! We’re going to give you two the best wedding ever!”

Arthur just smiled and closed his eyes. He didn’t really care if they were in some run-down registry office at the arse-end of nowhere, as long as he had Merlin at his side.

But if Morgana wanted to organise something wonderful, then that was just fine with Arthur.

\---

Once, before Merlin had entered his life, Arthur hadn’t looked forward to coming home. His large, expensive apartment with its immaculately stylish décor was without a doubt luxurious and comfortable, but it had also been soulless and empty – a beautiful shell where he could sleep and entertain if needed. It had been professionally cleaned once a week and barely had anything more personal on display than a couple of photos on a shelf in the living room.

Then Arthur had met Merlin, and everything changed.

Merlin was hopelessly untidy and somehow managed to create a mess wherever he went. Arthur’s cleaner resigned because now there was actual work to do, so they’d had to employ a new one. There were a few permanent stains on the work surfaces and small chips on the doors and furniture because Merlin was terminally clumsy. Arthur’s immaculate apartment was now full of silly ornaments and dog-eared books and piles of papers. The bin was always overflowing, there was toothpaste in the sink, and Merlin was always forgetting to use the extractor fan in the bathroom. Arthur’s cold, empty flat felt like a home, and he loved coming back to it. Back to Merlin.

As Arthur turned the key in the lock, he felt that familiar warmth settle in his stomach, knowing he could relax. He could hear the television and the sounds of laughter coming from the living room. Merlin would have friends over because everyone loved him and enjoyed his company. But at the end of the day he was Arthur’s and Arthur was his.

“Merlin!” he called, and waited.

Merlin bounded out into the hallway, reminding Arthur for all the world of an over-excited puppy. “Arthur!”

His hair was sticking up at odd angles as if he’d been pulling at it, and he was wearing some tatty t-shirt with a faded picture of the bat symbol on it. The well-worn cotton jersey felt warm and soft under Arthur’s touch as he pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.

“Mmm… you’re home early,” Merlin murmured against his mouth.

“Surprise.”

“Mmm…” Merlin kissed him again. “The flat’s a bit of a mess.”

“I’m shocked.”

“Gwaine’s fault.”

“Of course. I know how tidy _you_ are.”

“Hey Arthur!” Gwaine appeared in the hallway, jacket on and bag slung over his shoulder. “I’d stay, but I know you two’ll just spend the next hour trying to think of reasons to get me to leave so you can shag. So I’ll save you the trouble and go!”

“Wouldn’t take us an hour,” Arthur told him truthfully, grinning to show he was joking. “Ten minutes tops.”

“Arthur’s been away nearly a whole week,” Merlin added.

“And Merlin probably hasn’t washed a single piece of crockery in all that time. He has work to do.”

Merlin glared at Arthur for that. “Maybe Gwaine could stay after all. Quite a lot of that mess is his.”

“And that’s my cue to leave. Bye guys!” Gwaine could move extremely fast when he wanted to. As the door closed behind their friend, Arthur wondered just what sort of disaster zone was going to await him when he ventured further into the flat.

“Why don’t you go and soak in the bath for a bit?” Merlin suggested, which just confirmed Arthur’s suspicions. Merlin took Arthur’s case from him and propelled him towards the bathroom. “You must be tired after all that travelling. I’ll order in and just straighten up a few little odds and ends I’ve left lying about…”

“Are you saying I smell?”

“Noooo… I’m saying I want to be sure my boyfriend is all rested and refreshed. I’m looking after you!”

“Hmmm…” Arthur headed obediently into the bathroom. Merlin beamed at him fondly as if Arthur were an overindulged child. Arthur wondered if he was about to be patted on the head or something. But instead Merlin just left, closing the door behind him.

“I’ll bring you some wine,” Merlin called as he went.

Arthur smiled, looking around at the bathroom. Not too messy by Merlin’s standards, although there were some socks that had missed the washing basket and there was the usual splatter of toothpaste stains around the sink. The rest of the flat was almost certainly worse, and Arthur wasn’t going to miss the chance to tease Merlin about it. He quietly sneaked out again and headed for the living room. When he opened the living room door, the sight that met his eyes was quite ridiculous.

It was like a scene from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

As Arthur had guessed, Merlin had turned their home into a pigsty. Gwaine was almost as messy and had probably helped it along. Now Merlin was exercising his not inconsiderable magical skills to restore some semblance of order.

Plates and cups were flying into the kitchen. A hoover was making its way across the floor of its own accord. A cloth was wiping what looked like spilled beer from the arm of one of the leather armchairs. Merlin was in the middle of it all, orchestrating the clean-up. He saw Arthur and everything froze in mid-air.

“Um…”

“Yes,” Arthur agreed. “Um indeed.”

“You’re supposed to be in the bath.”

“And you,” Arthur sat himself down on the sofa which was at least cleared, “are supposed to be tidying up just a few odds and ends and then getting me a drink. Not renovating the entire flat.”

“Spring clean?”

“It’s autumn.”

“Love you?” Merlin cooed, smiling angelically. “You’d miss me and my mess if we weren’t here.”

And Arthur would, desperately, and he knew it. Besides, he sort of enjoyed watching Merlin in full magical flow. Merlin was amazing. Arthur was never going to admit that though.

“I suppose. I’ll go and unpack and then order us in some dinner. Unless you’ve already eaten?”

There was a half-eaten pizza on the coffee table but it was probably a day or two old judging by how dry and curled it looked. It would hopefully fly off to the kitchen in a minute and end up in the bin.

Merlin shook his head. “Starving actually.” He gestured at the Playstation controllers lying on the coffee table. “Saving the world’s exhausting stuff.”

“My hero,” Arthur told him drily. “Now hurry up with all the abracadabra stuff so we can spend the best part of the evening snuggled up in a clean and tidy lounge.”

“That won’t be the best part,” Merlin promised, but he waggled his fingers and the bizarre cleaning process continued on its way.

Arthur didn’t think he’d ever quite get used to it. His sister had magic, but it wasn’t like Merlin’s. Morgana was more of a seer. Merlin’s uncle Gaius was a healer. Kara, Pendragon Advertising’s main accountant, had some strange thing going on with water magic. They were all different. But Merlin’s was the best. Arthur had been quite relieved to hire Mordred. It was good to have at least one other non-magical person around.

While Merlin rushed about, Arthur fetched his laptop and took a few moments to go through his emails. After all, they wouldn’t have much time to bother with work over the next few days.

Mordred had already sorted out the emails from earlier in the day, colour-coding them so that he could see the urgent ones. There were a few that had come in after Mordred had finished for the day, mostly things that would never reach Arthur if they arrived during office hours. No, he didn’t want to be entered in a prize draw... No, he wasn’t interested in some computer conference in Milton Keynes… Delete… delete… delete…

Finally there was one with an attachment. Generally he left those for Mordred to check in the morning, just in case of viruses. Mordred had drummed that into him over and over again and now it was generally easier just to wait.

_Hey Merlin!_

Although it was in Arthur’s inbox, for some reason the sender was addressing Merlin. Arthur opened his mouth to call his boyfriend over, but then his gaze fell on the text of the message itself and it was impossible not to read it.

_Last night was amazing. Let’s do it again next time your bloke’s out of town. You’re like my little Duracell bunny, you keep on going! I’m knackered today, bet you are too but you’ve got a night to recover – though you could give me a call if you’re up to a repeat performance. Unless you’re shagging that Gwaine again. Attaching a little something to remind you how good we are. I know your bloke’s stinking rich and I get that you don’t want to give that up, but just think about it, huh? Missing you already._

_C x_

Arthur felt his blood run cold. It was a joke. It had to be a joke. Merlin would never…

The attachment was a video. Arthur wanted to just delete it and never see what was on there. But the email was damning enough and he had to know. Feeling sick to his stomach, Arthur pressed play. And that was when his world ended.

There was Merlin. And a long-haired man Arthur had never seen before. Both of them naked and fucking like rabbits. In a bed Arthur recognised all too well because he normally slept in it himself. The video was sharp and clear. There was none of the giveaway signs of it being a fake. God, he could even see those three tiny moles Merlin had on his back…

“Nearly done!” Merlin called from the kitchen. “Sorry! I wasn’t expecting you back till tomorrow and you know what a slob Gwaine is!”

“Not as well as you do,” Arthur said quietly. “Were you sleeping with him, too?”

“What?” Merlin poked his head round the kitchen door. “Didn’t hear that. Do you want a coffee?”

Arthur wanted something a whole lot stronger than a coffee. He stared at the images on his laptop screen. There was no sound because Arthur had it on silent, but he didn’t need it. He knew the sounds Merlin made in bed, could see his lips silently forming them. Words and sounds that should only ever have been for Arthur.

They would never be for Arthur again.

“Arthur?”

“I don’t want a coffee.” Arthur stood up, turning his back on the horrendous video but leaving it running. “I want you to pack your bags and leave.”

“ _What_?” Merlin came back into the living room, confusion written all over his face. “You… _what?_

Arthur gestured behind him at the laptop monitor, unable to turn and look at it with Merlin standing right there in front of him. Merlin came over and stared at it, his mouth hanging open and his head shaking slowly from side to side.

“What’s _that?_ ”

“You tell me. You seem to have a starring role.”

“Arthur!” Merlin gasped. “You don’t think that’s real? It’s a fake! I’ve never seen that man before in my life, I swear!”

He was good, Arthur would give him that. Merlin actually looked as if he was going to cry. It was all Arthur could do not to cry himself. He loved Merlin so much. He’d thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, grow old together. And now…

His father had warned him that there would be those who only wanted his money, those who would try to use him. But Arthur had been so, so certain that Merlin wasn’t like that. The pain of the betrayal cut like a knife in his heart, and Arthur thought it might be a mortal wound. He didn’t feel as if there was any way of surviving this.

“That’s you, Merlin. Don’t you think I know every inch of your body by now? Every little mark, every curve.” He glanced back at the screen but couldn’t keep his gaze on the sickening sight for long. “And that’s… god, that’s our bedroom! You let him have you in our bed! In our home!”

“No!” Merlin yelled. “Arthur, you have to listen to me. That’s fake. It’s fake! Oh please, don’t cry! It’s fake!”

Arthur could feel the tears on his cheeks, but he was beyond caring about that sort of humiliation. He was trembling, and thought if he stayed there another moment, he’d either collapse or hit something. Merlin had really done a number on him.

“Arthur, I swear to you that’s not me. I’d never cheat on you.”

Arthur risked another look. There was that clock on the nightstand with the digital display. It showed the date. Two nights ago. Nobody could possibly produce such a high-quality fake in that time. And why would they? What would anyone have to gain by it? Neither of them had any enemies that Arthur could think of. And Merlin had so many friends…

“Arthur, look at me!”

Arthur did. Merlin had tears and snot smeared across his face. He was trembling, no doubt in shock that he’d been found out.

“Please, please trust me,” Merlin breathed. “I haven’t done this. I love you.”

And that was enough, because plainly it was a lie.

“I want you gone,” Arthur found his voice again. It wavered a little, but he tried to sound as cold as possible.

“No!” Merlin cried. “Arthur, please…”

“Take all your crap and go. Leave your keys. I’m going to a hotel for the night. When I get back tomorrow, I don’t want to see any trace that you ever lived here.” And with that Arthur turned and left before the devastated expression on Merlin’s face melted his resolve. He could hear Merlin calling after him, but he didn’t look back.

That part of his life was over.

\---

The hotel room was plain and functional. Not the sort of place Arthur usually stayed, but he really didn’t care. He’d just staggered into the first budget chain hotel he found nearby. Luckily, they’d had a room available, and now he was shut away from the world and all the horror it had unleashed on him.

Morgana had left a text asking if she could start planning the wedding yet. He’d replied with a terse, ‘No and don’t mention it again.”

After that she’d tried to call several times and sent a number of worried messages, but he just deleted them. Merlin tried to call as well, over and over, but it was a simple matter to block his number and put a stop to that.

The phone rang yet again. Arthur picked it up, meaning to turn it off and possibly block Morgana too. But it wasn’t Morgana. It was Mordred, his assistant. Mordred had organised the holiday Arthur was supposed to be taking with Merlin. He would be the one getting all the calls when neither Arthur nor Merlin turned up. He could also field any other queries, which might mean Arthur was left in peace. Reluctantly, Arthur took the call.

“Hi Mordred.”

“Arthur?” Mordred’s concerned voice floated back at him. “Morgana’s called me, she’s worried about you. Is everything okay?”

“Not really.” Arthur sighed, knowing he would have to admit what had happened at some point. Mordred would deal with it. He dealt with everything. “I’ve split with Merlin.”

“Oh Arthur… I’m so sorry.”

Mordred was great like that, always supportive and kind. It was well after office hours, and he was still willing to call Arthur. Far and away the most amazing PA Arthur had ever had.

“Is there anything I can do? I won’t ask questions, I know how hard breakups can be. But I’m shocked. I thought you two were for life.”

“Me too,” Arthur admitted. “Thanks, Mordred. I want to just lie low for a few days. Merlin’s clearing his stuff out, and I’m in a hotel overnight until he’s gone. Could you cancel the trip? I’ll be away for a few days now. If anyone wants me, tell them I’m ill. And… can you tell Morgana. I can’t face anyone right now.”

“Of course. Oh god, Arthur, I’m really sorry. I’ll sort everything, don’t worry about that. And if you need to talk, I’m right here. I mean that. Any time. Listen, it’ll be difficult going back tomorrow. Do you want me to pop over to the flat first, make sure it’s okay?”

Mordred had a key to Arthur’s place. He often had to go and pick up dry cleaning or suits or something for Arthur, or drop something in. He was a good person to have around. Arthur considered him more of a friend than an employee. Going back to that flat was going to be hard, especially if Merlin hadn’t left.

But Arthur wasn’t a coward, no matter what life was throwing at him.

“I’ll go alone. But thank you. And thanks for calling.”

Arthur hung up. And then it was just him, alone in the silent hotel room. He lay back on the bed, but he knew he wouldn’t sleep one wink that night.

\---

When Arthur got back home the following morning, the flat was immaculate and Merlin had gone.

Mordred and Morgana, however, were both sitting in his kitchen nursing steaming mugs of coffee. Mordred looked faintly embarrassed at being there, but Morgana rushed straight over to Arthur and pulled him into a hug.

“Mordred told me. I’m so sorry! What on earth happened?”

Arthur looked down, shaking his head, not wanting to put into words the horrible, humiliating thing that Merlin had done to him. But he knew that Morgana would never let it lie until she had found out every detail. Arthur wasn’t ready to talk about it. He wasn’t sure that he ever would be.

“Was he still here when you arrived?” he asked instead.

“No. There was a note. We haven’t opened it,” Morgana assured him. He noticed then that there was a pale envelope on the breakfast bar next to Mordred’s coffee cup. What looked like Merlin’s scrawl was just about visible across the front.

“Bin it,” Arthur told them. He turned away from them and made himself a coffee, trying to hide how much his hands were shaking. There was no hiding from his sister though.

“Arthur, please. There must be some way to salvage this. Whatever’s happened, you two love each other,” Morgana pleaded with him. “I can’t bear to see you like this. You were so happy.”

“It’s done, Morgana. Over. I don’t want to discuss it.”

“But Arthur, you two were perfect together. Please, let me try to help. I can’t believe there isn’t still some chance. Merlin always looked at you as if you were the best thing he’d ever seen. God knows why, but he did. And I know how much you love him. So there _has_ to be a way.”

Arthur abandoned his attempts to operate the coffee machine. Merlin had always been better with it than he was. Perhaps he’d throw it out. He turned to face Morgana and Mordred.

“There is no way. This is to go no further, but Merlin slept with someone else.”

“No!” He wasn’t sure if it was Morgana or Mordred who said that. Perhaps both, as they looked equally stunned and horrified.

“He wouldn’t do that,” Morgana insisted. “There’s some mistake.”

“No mistake. His new love emailed me a video, that’s the only mistake. It was right here in our bedroom. And the email said it was in the past few days. Apparently he’s been doing Gwaine as well, but thankfully I was spared seeing that.”

“Gwaine?” Morgana queried. “Surely not? Gwaine’s your friend. No, I can’t believe this, Arthur. It’s definitely a mistake. Neither of them would do that to you.”

“Merlin’s been with someone else,” Arthur stated. “No reason to suppose he wouldn’t do Gwaine too. Gwaine was over here while I was away.”

“But might the video be a fake?” Mordred asked. “People can do clever things with video. You can’t tell just by looking at it.”

Morgana leapt eagerly on that. “He’s right, Arthur. It could just be some jealous ex-boyfriend of yours or his, trying to cause trouble.”

Arthur would have loved that to be the case. But the video was too sharp, too smooth. And that had been Merlin, not some body double. “I don’t think so. It wasn’t anyone I recognised, and it was filmed right here in this flat as well. It’s no ex.”

“But what if it is? We need to know for sure before you cut Merlin off forever,” Morgana persisted. “You know, I could get it tested for you. See if it _is_ a fake. Because I have to say, Arthur, I find it hard to believe that Merlin would do this. He always seemed to be as much in love as you.”

Mordred nodded, agreeing with her. “Definitely. But you shouldn’t have to be involved in something indelicate like that, Miss Pendragon. I’ll sort it out. I’ve got a few contacts who specialise in photography. They’d be able to tell, I’m sure.” He smiled at Arthur. “Don’t worry, I’ll sort this out for you. Where is it? In your emails?”

“Yes.”

Mordred got up and pulled on his jacket. “I’ll get right on it. And I’ll make sure the details go no further than the three of us here in this room. You know you can trust me with anything.”

Arthur did. But then he’d thought he could trust Merlin too. He just hoped that Mordred was right. And that if Mordred was, that Merlin would forgive Arthur.

 

 

\---

# One Year Later...

“Well,” Arthur said as he stood at the end of the aisle beside Merlin. “Look at this. Never thought we’d be here.”

Merlin didn’t answer. It was too hard to stop himself from saying that he’d always thought that they would. Be there. In a church, in front of a minister. Together.

Just not like this.

It was cruel of Arthur to say so. But then that was Arthur’s way, ever since… Well it was just Arthur’s way now. Perhaps things were Merlin’s fault for not being trustworthy enough; perhaps they were Arthur’s for being so willing to believe the worst of Merlin. Things had long since gone past the point where it mattered who was to blame. It just was the way that it was. It didn’t do to think back to when times were different. Merlin stared straight ahead, hoping that the ordeal would soon be over. If he didn’t love Gwen so much, he would never have agreed to do this for her. He suspected the same was true of Arthur and Lance. Those two had been best friends forever, after all.

“At this point the best man hands over the rings,” the minister told them. Merlin forced himself to try to concentrate on the proceedings even though all he really had to do was stand there. Still, Arthur deserved a little dig for his comment a few moments before.

“Best man!” Merlin snorted, unable to stop himself. “Couldn’t have picked a worse one.”

Arthur looked at him then, and just for a moment Merlin thought he’d hurt him and was sorry. But then the wounded expression, if that’s what it ever was, faded away and was replaced by the cold, hard gaze that Merlin had become used to from Arthur in recent months on the rare occasion that they ran into each other. “Well I certainly did,” was all he said.

It wasn’t as if Merlin could even claim that he didn’t deserve it after his own comment. But he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve any of it. Neither did Arthur, not really. But Arthur had been jealous and insecure and hadn’t believed Merlin… If Arthur had _really_ loved him, he would never have let Merlin go. And he would never stand there now and say such mean things. Perhaps it would even be the two of them rehearsing their wedding, with Lance and Gwen acting as their respective best persons. But it wasn’t and it never would be.

Arthur was handing over the rings. Merlin saw him fumble, briefly, almost drop the smaller one, then confidently pass them to Lance and Gwen as if he had never made any slip. But that was Arthur all over, Merlin knew. Arthur was an expert at hiding what he felt, at letting it all build up inside him and not letting it out. It was something he’d had drummed into him as a child by his father. Emotions were a sign of weakness. Their split must have half-killed him. The trouble was that if you bottled something up too much, then it was bound to eventually explode.

Merlin knew that. He’d watched Arthur struggle with it often enough. But it was no longer his business. Arthur was no longer his business, no longer part of his life. Merlin tried to look past him, at Gwen and Lance standing there at their own wedding rehearsal. Gwen and Lance had their whole lives ahead of them. Tomorrow they would be standing there again, this time in their wedding outfits, going through the ceremony for real.

Arthur would be there for Lance. And Merlin… Merlin would be there for Gwen. Their two best friends, the couple who had got to know each other through Merlin and Arthur back when it was still Merlin and Arthur. Of course Merlin and Arthur were always going to be their only choices for the roles of best man and man of honour. Merlin was just waiting for Arthur to point out that Merlin was actually the bridesmaid though. The old Arthur would have done that, and they would have laughed about it.

The Arthur beside him now wasn’t funny. The Arthur beside him probably never laughed. God, when did Arthur get so serious? Perhaps he always was and Merlin had just never noticed. Perhaps that had been part of the problem.

Arthur had always given the impression that he was up for pretty much anything when he wasn’t at work. His main goals in life seemed to be to work hard and play hard, with nothing in between. Everything had to be an extreme, a grand gesture. It had never been a great basis for a relationship, and everyone had said so. Still, Merlin had hoped to prove everyone wrong. Clearly he had failed.

But back then Merlin had also seen a warmer, softer side to Arthur. When they’d been alone, he’d seen glimpses of what appeared to be uncertainty and vulnerability, although Arthur had always been quick to hide them even from Merlin. Perhaps those glimpses had been the only time Merlin had seen the real Arthur and Merlin should have tried harder to reach him? But it was all far too late now.

Merlin tried to focus on the wedding rehearsal. There wasn’t a great deal for him to do during the ceremony. As Gwen’s man of honour, all he had to do was make sure she looked beautiful, and that was hardly difficult because nature had already done the job for him. There was a speech later, of course, because although generally a bridesmaid wouldn’t be expected to do one, somehow the male equivalent was.

He and Arthur, if things were different, could have combined their speeches and created some huge, brilliant thing. Instead Merlin had a script prepared about the happy couple, but it wasn’t going to compare to whatever Arthur would come out with. Arthur did speeches all the time at work. Arthur would be smooth and professional and amazing, whilst Merlin would be crappy and stumble over his words. Poor Gwen wasn’t going to be too pleased with him.

Arthur was looking at him again but turned away as soon as Merlin met his gaze.

“What?” Merlin growled quietly, because he wasn’t going to play Arthur’s game. Also being in such close proximity to his ex-lover was making him snappy.

“Just making sure you weren’t about to do anything stupid,” Arthur whispered back. “You know, like start shagging one of the ushers in the middle of the ceremony or something.”

Merlin glared at him, then very pointedly looked at his watch. “Hmm… that took you exactly sixteen minutes. And I’m not even going to waste my breath telling you yet again how very wrong you were. Are. Still.”

“You must be really disappointed that they haven’t asked Gwaine to come to the rehearsal,” Arthur continued coldly. “But Elyan’s looking good in his suit, don’t you think? And Percy’s one of the ushers. You always liked him.”

Merlin could feel the traitorous sting of tears starting in his eyes. But he wasn’t going to let Arthur make him cry, not there. He wouldn’t give Arthur that satisfaction. “He’s a damned sight better than you, that’s for sure!”

He thought, just for a moment, that Arthur flinched at that. But it was fleeting, and Merlin couldn’t be sure.

“Well tough, he’s straight. And Gwaine’s started seeing Leon, so you’ve missed out there too. Though I suppose that wouldn’t stop you.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I never cheated on you?” Merlin snapped angrily. “You can bloody well believe what you like, I don’t care!”

“Oh, I know!” Arthur hit back. “You made that perfectly clear!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Just lay back and thought of Wales?” Arthur sneered.

“I _didn’t do anything!_ ” Merlin repeated. He was shouting now, and he knew everyone in the church had turned to watch them, the rehearsal totally forgotten. “That video was a fake! But you wouldn’t believe me and you _still_ won’t believe me because you’d rather stand there like some damned martyr to your own cause and think the worst of me!”

“I know what I saw!”

“It was a recording! A fake one!”

“I had it tested! It was genuine!”

That threw Merlin for a moment. The recording _had_ been a complete fake, albeit a good one. But the fact Arthur had been prepared to believe it was genuine had hurt so much that Merlin hadn’t had the heart to fight it as hard as he should have at the time. Arthur had tested it though. So that meant he hadn’t been prepared to just believe the worst of Merlin after all. But it should have shown up as being the doctored recording that it was. Should have, unless whoever created it had a particular skill that wouldn’t show up if all you were looking for were camera tricks.

“It must have been done with magic!”

Arthur just stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then shook his head. “That’s so convenient. Always the way out. You have magic, Morgana has magic… now when it suits you some mystery person does too. Even though there’s never been any sign of whoever it was since. You can say anything is magic and then there’s no proof either way and you know it!”

“You don’t understand!”

“No! I don’t! Because I’m just a non-magic user with nothing special and easy to take advantage of. Maybe that long-haired bloke had magic and that was the attraction? Two of a kind drawn together? Was that it? Did he shag better because of the magic then?”

“Arthur, Merlin” Leon called softly. “That’s enough.”

“I _don’t know!”_ Merlin yelled, ignoring Leon. “I don’t know because I have never, _ever_ slept with him! I’ve never even met him! I don’t know who he is!”

Behind them the vicar coughed. “Gentlemen, please…”

“If it was magic, and someone made it up, explain how they knew to put the moles in? And that little scar on your butt! How could anyone know that was there unless they’d seen it? And how did they get the footage of our flat? Explain that! You can’t, can you?”

“I…” Merlin had to think again. It was all speculation, all guesswork. But he could imagine what must have been done. “Those films we did for fun. You said you’d deleted them but what if…”

“Will you both just shut up!” Elyan shouted, pushing his way between the two of them. “Enough!”

Merlin looked around, suddenly remembering that they had an audience. Lance had his arms around Gwen, who was crying quietly onto his shoulder. The vicar was wringing his hands worriedly, bouncing back on his heels, obviously unsure what to do. Elyan, Gwen’s normally quiet and gentle brother, was glaring at Arthur and Merlin, his face contorted with anger.

“You’re ruining this! This is supposed to be all about Gwen and Lance, not either of you! If you want to fight, do it another day. Look, you’ve made my sister cry right before her wedding! What kind of person does that? You’re supposed to be standing up to support them, not provide a floor show! What the hell’s the matter with the pair of you? If you two aren’t up to doing this, say so now because there’s plenty more who can step in and do a damned sight better job!”

“Sorry,” Merlin gasped, looking down at his feet, ashamed.

“Yes, I’m sorry too,” Arthur agreed. “Lance, mate, I... I’m really sorry. Gwen, I promise, I won’t say another word to him.”

“That goes for me too,” Merlin added. “Really sorry, Gwen.”

Elyan continued to glare at them both. He stood beside them, arms folded, throughout the rest of the rehearsal. Merlin barely dared say anything. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Elyan that angry in all the years he’d known him. Even Arthur was subdued, but that could be for any number of reasons.

In the year since they’d split up Merlin had only seen Arthur occasionally and never on his own. Always they had their mutual friends around, and normally those friends did their best to keep them at opposite ends of the room.

Merlin had tried to make contact at first. He’d tried calling and texting Arthur but had no luck there. The call kept getting shut down at first, and the texts were ignored. And soon enough he found himself blocked. Calls to Arthur’s office always came up against the barrier of Mordred, who let nobody through that he didn’t approve of. Merlin was definitely not approved of. He tried emails, but those bounced back undeliverable, probably blocked too, or perhaps Arthur had changed his account. Understandable after the video he’d received on it. Finally Merlin had tried good old-fashioned letter writing, both to Arthur’s home and to his work.

The letters to his office all came back with return to sender on them, printed in Mordred’s immaculate hand. The letters to the flat did not come back, but within a few months it had been sold and Arthur had moved out so there was no point in sending any more there.

Once, stupidly, he’d even tried approaching Morgana in the hope she might speak to Arthur on his behalf. It was a mistake he wouldn’t make twice. She had always been friendly with Merlin when he was with Arthur, but the sex video had changed all that. It had hurt Arthur badly, and as far as Morgana was concerned that was unforgivable.

It was unforgivable to Merlin as well. He had no idea who had done it or why, but he was determined to find out one day. Perhaps it would be too late to get Arthur back, but at least Arthur would know that he hadn’t been betrayed. Having Arthur hating him was unbearable.

Finally the rehearsal was over. Arthur moved away from Merlin so fast that it was as if he’d been repelled. Perhaps he was. Merlin didn’t attempt to follow him. Standing there so close to Arthur, smelling the familiar scent of his aftershave, seeing the line of his jaw set in a determined frown, his body turned slightly away from Merlin… it was all more of a torture than he could bear. And there was still a dinner to come, along with the real wedding tomorrow.

Merlin wasn’t sure he could take it.

“You okay?” he heard Leon ask Arthur. Well Leon would, of course. Leon was Arthur’s friend, just the same as Lance. Gwen had probably been the only one who wanted Merlin there. Few of them appeared to know the full details of what had actually happened. Arthur had apparently been too horrified and ashamed to let anyone else see the recording, which was a blessing. Most of them only knew that Merlin had cheated on Arthur and merely been with him because he was rich. That was quite enough for them to be very cool towards Merlin.

Merlin wouldn’t have cared if Arthur was destitute. He had loved him. Still loved him, if he was honest. He didn’t catch Arthur’s reply to Leon’s question, but saw Leon reach out and squeeze Arthur’s arm sympathetically.

“Merlin?”

Merlin looked round and found Gwen at his side. Behind her Lance and Elyan were glaring at him furiously, but sweet Gwen’s face was only filled with concern.

“I’m sorry, Gwen,” he said again. “I couldn’t help it. I didn’t do what he thinks I did, and I don’t know how I can prove that I didn’t. And it makes me so sad and angry that he won’t believe me.”

Gwen nodded sympathetically. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked you to do this,” she sighed. “It’s been so long, I thought the two of you would have moved on. It’s just that you’ve always been my best friend, and I really want you to be here.”

“Do you think you can control yourself tomorrow?” Elyan growled, still in protective mode. “Because if you ruin my sister’s wedding…”

“I’m not going to ruin anything,” Merlin snapped back. “And neither will Arthur.”

Gwen hugged him for that. Lance and Elyan looked less convinced, but at least they didn’t say anything further. He decided that it probably wasn’t the best time to ask if he could skip the meal…

\---

In the end, Merlin was quite glad that he went to the pre-wedding dinner.

Lance and Gwen had organised it for their close friends and family. It was a special thank you to them all for helping with the wedding, and very informal. They’d hired a private dining room upstairs in one of the restaurants in town. Everyone was sitting around a single long table, and the wine and food were all good. The only problem was the company.

Somehow Merlin found himself opposite Arthur.

They’d been careful, making sure they sat as far from each other as possible. Arthur had headed for the top end of the table, Merlin for the bottom. It should have been fine. And it would have been except for Merlin’s Uncle Gaius, who had wangled an invite because Gwen adored him and because he’d mentored Lance all through his medical school days. Really they both liked him so much it was a wonder he wasn’t best man. Gaius had brought along his wife, Alice, who was still recovering from a recent hip operation and needed to be sitting somewhere that gave her room to stretch out and stand up if she needed to. They were a little late and there weren’t two spare seats available that were next to each other. Arthur, always the gentleman, immediately offered her his seat which she gratefully accepted.

Unfortunately there was only one other space at that end, and Gaius was given that so that he could sit with his wife. The only other free seat now that everyone had sat down was at the other end opposite Merlin.

It could have been worse, Merlin realised as Arthur pulled out the chair and sat down across from him. He could have been the one who had moved and found himself sitting between Arthur and Morgana. At least as things had worked out he was only surrounded by Elyan, several of Lance’s relatives, and Arthur.

Elyan frowned warningly at them both, but Merlin had no intention of earning a second telling off. He sat quietly, aware that there were various people at the other end of the table watching them carefully. Elyan was on patrol though, ready to jump in at the smallest suggestion of antagonism.

Arthur was the one who broke the silence. He didn’t appear to know Lance’s relatives either beyond a polite greeting. The two of them might have endured the entire meal without saying a word, but apparently Arthur was feeling chatty.

“Can you pass me the bread?”

It wasn’t the most scintillating of ice-breakers, but it worked. Merlin picked up the basket and handed it over.

“Thanks.”

“The one with the cheese top is delicious,” Merlin offered. He saw Arthur hesitate, his hand over a different roll, and wondered if Arthur would actually be petty enough to ignore him. That really wouldn’t bode well for the next day. But Arthur took the cheese one, spread a little butter on it, then bit in.

“Mmm, you’re right. That’s good.”

And then they were back to silence again while the starters were brought round. Merlin could hear Gaius recounting some story at the other end of the table, making everyone laugh. Selfishly, he wished Gaius was down here with him, but Merlin’s end of the table was quite cramped and Alice wouldn’t have been able to manage.

“So,” Arthur said suddenly, making Merlin jump. “What have you been doing with your life over the past year then, Merlin?”

There was no snarky undercurrent to it. Arthur was just looking at him sadly. It made Merlin hope that there was some chance that Arthur missed him as much as he missed Arthur.

“Oh… just working and studying mostly. I moved back home, passed my exams and got an internship in the city. I start in a few weeks.”

“That’s good. How is your mother?”

Merlin’s mother was a lot better than she had been. When he’d turned up on her doorstep that horrible day the previous year and just collapsed into her arms sobbing, he hadn’t considered what a toll it would take on her. She’d worried and fussed over him, but in the end there was nothing that she could do to help him other than be there for him. It had been heartbreaking for her to see her beloved son so unhappy. In the end Merlin had made an effort around her, trying to put on a brave face so that she wouldn’t look so pale and worried all the time.

“She’s fine,” was all he said on that. “Still working as Gaius’ receptionist. Oh, she got a new cat. Horrible thing, hates me.” He held up his hand so that Arthur could see the long scratch down the back of it. “That was because I wouldn’t get out of my chair and Aithusa wanted to sit in it!”

At least that made Arthur smile. “Sounds like my sort of cat.”

“Yeah, you’d like her. Except she’s a pure white Persian, long-haired. Gets on everything. She’d be shedding all over your suits.”

“I’d train her.”

“To sit on mine I suppose?”

“Yep!”

Merlin couldn’t help smiling at that. This was good, he thought. They were at least having a civil conversation despite the barely-there barbs that were still coming in. He decided to continue. “So what about you?” he asked, then mentally kicked himself because of course Arthur wasn’t good. Arthur was hurt. He tried again, quickly adding in a new question. “How’s the business going?”

“The business is doing well,” Arthur told him. “We’ve had a number of new clients. Morgana snared Morgause from Gorlois Foods, and they seem to have put the word out because quite a few companies joined up on the back of that advert.”

Merlin had seen the adverts dancing their way across his TV set. Gorlois Foods were a huge brand, and if Pendragon were the ones promoting them, then others were bound to follow. “I saw that. I liked the talking tomato.”

Arthur laughed, though it wasn’t the long deep laugh that Merlin loved. This was light and polite and just not Arthur at all. “That was my idea.”

“Brilliant.”

“Sandwich,” Arthur admitted. “The whole thing collapsed on me all over some notes, and there was this slice of tomato… I suppose I shouldn’t have eaten it, given that it was so inspirational!”

Merlin laughed at that. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Elyan relaxing a little, turning away from them. Perhaps they would be able to get through the next couple of days after all.

“Poor tomato.”

“Yes, you would feel sorry for it,” Arthur mused. “But it died a good death.”

They both laughed, and Merlin felt something melt inside him. It was good to be able to sit with Arthur like that, although Merlin knew it was just going to make him miss Arthur more in the long run.

“It was delicious too!” Arthur added.

“Not as delicious as this cheesy bread,” Merlin pointed out, grabbing the last roll.

“No… hey!”

Merlin paused, then ripped it in half and offered half to Arthur. “Share?”

He saw Arthur hesitate too, then reach out and take the offering. “That’s the smaller half!”

“They’re the same size!” Merlin protested.

“Hmph.” Arthur started buttering his half. “I’m going to find out who their supplier is and offer them a half-price contract if they deliver a batch of these to the office every morning!”

“Greedy!”

“Oh, it talks! How many were in this basket before I sat down, _Mer_ -lin?”

Merlin had missed that. The snarky little emphasis on the first part of his name. He’d not heard it for a year because nobody else pronounced his name like that. He just sat there and gazed at Arthur, not knowing what to say or how to react. He could feel his eyes welling up and knew that any moment there were going to be embarrassing tears. Arthur realised what he’d done, and gazed back. He looked equally shocked.

“Merlin…”

And then the door burst open and ruined the moment.

“Sorry!” Mordred called to the room in general. “There was a problem with one of our clients, and I couldn’t leave until it was fixed. Really sorry, all sorted now,” he added to Morgana as he passed.

To his dismay, Merlin saw that Mordred was heading down to their end of the table, one of the waiters following him with a chair. Mordred was not family, and as far as Merlin was aware he wasn’t particularly friendly with Lance or Gwen either. There wasn’t a place for him, as the waiter squeezed the chair in next to Arthur, who shifted down a little.

“What are you doing here?” Merlin asked as Mordred sat down. He had never particularly liked Arthur’s PA. There was something a bit off about him, and the man had never been overly civil to Merlin even before Arthur and Merlin had split. Since the split, Mordred had been quite rude. But then, so had a few of Arthur’s friends.

“Oh, I’m Arthur’s plus one for the wedding,” Mordred told him with an unkind little smirk. “We thought it would be a good idea, what with you being here and everything.” He turned to Arthur. “Why aren’t you up with the others?”

“Alice needed a seat with plenty of room.”

“And the only place left to sit was with _him_?” Mordred asked, jerking a thumb towards Merlin. “Arthur, you know what we talked about…”

“It’s fine,” Arthur insisted. “We were just catching up.”

If looks could kill, Merlin thought the one that was being aimed at him at that moment would probably scorch him on the spot. Mordred really hated him, he realised. It hadn’t sunk in just how much until that moment. But then, Mordred was devoted to Arthur and was probably every bit as angry with Merlin as Morgana was.

“If you say so. Anyway, Morgana said I should come down for this, hope that’s okay? She thought as I’d been in the office all day, it would be a boost. But then all the shit hit the fan, and now I’m late.” He paused to give the waiter his order, then sat back in his chair, looking far too smug for Merlin’s liking.

“Which account was it?” Arthur asked.

“Solomon Brothers. They didn’t like the jingle Mithian had come up with. All sorted now. Anyway, it won’t be our problem soon.”

“Why not?” Merlin couldn’t help asking. It earned him another glare from Mordred, just for daring to speak.

“Pendragon Advertising is branching out,” Arthur told him. “We’re opening a new office in Brussels, getting in there before Brexit is finalised and makes everything impossible. I’m going to be heading it up. We’re always travelling over there anyway. It makes sense to open a new branch. It’s an exciting new venture for the company.”

“That’s great,” Merlin managed. Arthur was emigrating. There was a good chance Merlin would never see him again. The wedding tomorrow might be the very last time. No more awkward gatherings with their mutual friends because Arthur would be gone. “Your father would have approved, I’m sure.”

“We don’t really care what you think,” Mordred told him. “Not after what you did to Arthur. It’ll be good for him, getting away and starting again. New life, new start.” He smiled up at Arthur, and then Merlin realised what had always been niggling him about Mordred. Mordred obviously had a king-sized crush on his boss. He wondered if it was reciprocated. Plus one, Mordred had said.

“I wish you well,” Merlin told Arthur. His mouth felt dry, the words tasted hollow. “You always did have great ideas for the business.”

“Actually, it was Mordred that came up with this one,” Arthur smiled. “I would never have thought of it. He’s coming with me, thankfully. It would have been hell without my right hand man!”

Mordred actually seemed to glow with the compliment. “I’m looking forward to it. New challenges ahead. We make a great team. Arthur’s promoting me to deputy manager,” he added to Merlin.

“Congratulations.” Merlin took a sip of his wine. He hoped Lance and Gwen had ordered plenty because he was going to need it to get through that evening. “So you’re a couple now, are you?”

“No!” Arthur put in quickly, briefly wiping the smug look off Mordred’s face. “Mordred’s been a good friend through all this. I’m lucky to have him. You can’t go to a wedding by yourself, and I don’t want to get into the quagmire of dating again. Mordred’s kindly offered to stand in.”

“Very kind,” Merlin agreed, not liking the way Mordred was looking so pleased with himself again. “I didn’t really think about it. I’m going by myself.”

“Not with your long-haired friend?” Mordred asked, sneering at him.

 “You’ve seen it,” Merlin sighed. Mordred was the first person, other than Arthur, who had addressed the content of the film directly. Merlin wasn’t entirely surprised though, Mordred had always seemed to get involved in every aspect of Arthur’s life. It had got on Merlin’s nerves sometimes.

“Someone had to check it was genuine for Arthur. We’d all hoped it was a fake, that you wouldn’t do such a thing.” Mordred shook his head sadly, that half-smile still on his face. “But no.”

Merlin looked to Arthur again. That cold, shuttered expression had settled back onto his ex-lover’s face once more. All the fledgling warmth that had just started to rekindle between them was gone, and they were back to the same distance as they’d had that afternoon. Merlin’s shoulders slumped, and he took another mouthful of the wine. It was going to be a long evening.

But then he noticed Mordred’s expression. It wasn’t concern that was written there. No, Mordred looked pleased to be there. And there was something about his eyes, the way he looked at Merlin…

And that was when Merlin realised the truth.

Of course it was Mordred. Mordred, who had checked the recording over for magic and supposedly found nothing. Mordred, who obviously wanted Arthur for himself, and who had Arthur’s complete trust. Mordred, who had access to all Arthur’s private files. That was what Merlin hadn’t been able to understand – how anyone could find footage of him naked. Merlin and Arthur had filmed themselves for fun once or twice, then deleted it. But if someone was clever enough with computers, they could retrieve deleted files. And then all they’d have to do was find a suitable film to splice it together with. The film had been so sharp and clear that they had to have employed someone with magic who could make it look that convincing. Mordred was clever with computers. Arthur had often commented on the fact. And he had access to everything. God, he’d seen their deeply private and beautifully loving film, and turned it into something dirty and horrible. And he must have shown it to someone else as well, someone with magic.

Merlin wasn’t a violent man, but he had never wanted to hit someone so much. But that wouldn’t help and would probably just get him barred from the wedding. So Merlin sat there, just staring at Mordred in disbelief, trying to rein in his emotions. He could feel his magic tingling, wanting to reach out and hurt Mordred. It had never, ever done anything like that before. Sometimes with Arthur, when they’d been in bed together, it had gone a little haywire because it loved Arthur as much as Merlin did. But that was love, and all it had wanted to do was keep Arthur close and protected and happy. This was something else, and the intensity of it frightened Merlin a little.

But he stayed calm, trying to see this as the win that it was. He now knew who had set him up. Now all he had to do was prove it.

Prove it, before Mordred whisked Arthur off to Brussels and out of Merlin’s life for good.

\---

The wedding, surprisingly, went without any problems.

Arthur had stood in the church supporting a nervous Lance and made appropriate reassurances every time his friend glanced worriedly at his watch.

“It’s tradition for the bride to be late! And it’s only five minutes!”

And then Gwen had appeared, looking beautiful in her dress. Elyan had proudly walked her down the aisle, and the ceremony had begun. Arthur, though, had been unable to stop himself sneaking glances at Gwen’s man of honour.

He shouldn’t, he knew. It was over between them – it had to be after what Merlin had done. But the spark had still been there the previous evening at dinner. If Mordred hadn’t turned up when he did, then Arthur wasn’t entirely sure that he wouldn’t have tried to let Merlin back into his life. And that would have been a mistake.

Merlin looked good in his suit. It matched Arthur’s, making them stand out from the ushers, although Merlin’s was dark blue and Arthur’s was black. It reminded Arthur a little of the time Merlin had worn a suit just once when they first started seeing each other. Arthur had brought him home to meet his family. Merlin had got it into his head that he needed to dress smartly if he was visiting Arthur’s father and had worn what Arthur later found was his one suit. That suit was cheaply made and a little too short in the leg. Merlin had looked uncomfortable all day. Morgana had instantly decided he was adorable. And their father had been amused by the attempt to earn his respect, which meant Merlin didn’t get as much criticism as any of Arthur’s previous boyfriends. It had almost been approval. Almost.

This suit was different. It was a perfect fit, well-tailored and form-fitting. Merlin had managed to tame his hair a little as well, although Arthur could already see the ends desperately fighting for their independence and had no doubt it would need touching-up before the photos. But then he’d realised he was staring and that Mordred was frowning at him from further down the aisle, gesturing for him to pay attention to the bride and groom instead. Mordred’s attention to Arthur was always total, and Arthur counted himself blessed to have such a good PA.

Arthur couldn’t help still watching Merlin though. Soon enough Arthur would be living abroad. Perhaps this wedding would be the last time he ever saw Merlin. That hurt more than it should, given that they had been split up for almost a year. Emigrating was probably a good idea.

“Arthur!” Merlin whispered and nodded pointedly towards the vicar.

Cringing inwardly, Arthur quickly took out the rings and stepped up. He’d been too busy thinking about Merlin to concentrate on the important task that his oldest friend had entrusted him with. Hoping that nobody had noticed, but doubting he was that lucky, Arthur tried to immerse himself totally in the ceremony, determined to play his part to the best of his ability. And not to look at Merlin again.

It was impossible though. Outside afterwards, the photographer took picture after picture. Not just of the happy couple but also of the rest of the party. The best man, man of honour and all the groomsmen were all in far too many pictures. Arthur thought he would like a copy of the one with himself and Lance, but really he knew he’d prefer the one of Gwen with Merlin. And worse was to come when the photographer decided he wanted a few shots of the best man and man of honour together. That was a special torture that hell had obviously got reserved for Arthur. He doubted Merlin enjoyed it either. Particularly as Mordred had stood behind the photographer the entire time, glaring at Merlin and looking as if he were some kind of bodyguard for Arthur.

Sometimes Mordred was a little bit _too_ concerned about Arthur’s well-being. Arthur wasn’t a child. He could look after himself. Probably better than Mordred if it came to a fight, as Arthur was taller and stronger. And okay, so he hadn’t done very well with the whole Merlin thing, but aside from that complete disaster things were good. The company was a success. His father would have been pleased with the way they were running it. And Arthur was coping. It had taken a while, but he was tough and he was going to get over Merlin and what had happened. Eventually. No, Mordred didn’t need to be so protective.

Morgana kept telling him it was time to start dating again and perhaps she was right. After all, it was a pretty sad state of affairs when you were bringing your PA to a wedding as your plus one. Mordred looked good, though. He'd made quite an effort and was easy on the eyes anyway. But he was Arthur’s PA, and Arthur wasn’t the sort to abuse his position. Besides, decent PAs were hard to find, and he wasn’t going to risk losing one as good as Mordred just for an affair.

When the ceremony was over Mordred was right there beside him. Mordred had driven them both to the wedding, as he thoughtfully had pointed out that Arthur would be busy concentrating on his major role in the proceedings and not need the added distraction of driving. It hadn’t helped in the church, where Arthur had let that concentration slip, but Arthur was determined not to let that happen again.

Mordred drove them both to where the wedding reception was going to be held. It was a huge manor house on the outskirts of Camelot that had been converted into a hotel. Gwen and Lance had stayed there the previous Christmas and that was where Lance had proposed, so there was really no other choice. Arthur hadn’t seen it, but he’d heard that the food was amazing.

That was good because his best man speech wasn’t brilliant and he’d need the audience to be distracted. Delicious food would do the trick. He told Mordred as much.

“It’ll be fine,” Mordred assured him as they headed up the long driveway to the hotel. “Seriously, everyone’s always pissed by the time the best man gets up to speak. They’ll clap and laugh at anything, and really Arthur, your speech is pretty good.”

The speech was way below his usual standard, and Arthur knew it. But he just hadn’t been able to concentrate. Ever since he’d found out that Merlin was going to be there supporting Gwen, he hadn’t been able to focus. Gwen and Lance probably didn’t know the whole story, of course. They surely wouldn’t have invited Merlin if they did. Everyone was aware that there had been an infidelity on Merlin’s part, but that was all. Nobody but Mordred and Morgana knew about the film, and Arthur wanted to keep it that way. Having the lasting proof that someone you loved had betrayed you like that was beyond humiliating.

“I’m going to work on it some more,” Arthur decided. “We’ve got a couple of hours before the reception. I brought my laptop.”

Mordred glanced at him, then shook his head. “Always working. We’re supposed to be celebrating your friend’s wedding this weekend. And don’t tell me you only brought the laptop so that you could work on your speech. I know you!”

Arthur really _had_ brought it for his speech, although he’d also thought having it might be useful if he needed to make an escape. If seeing Merlin again was just too much, he intended heading back to his room on the pretext that he had an urgent job on. He wasn’t going to tell Mordred that though.

“I know,” Arthur agreed instead. “But the wedding speech takes priority. Don’t worry, Mordred. I’ll only use it to check a few emails. Besides, you’ll want me out of the way. Lance and Gwen have a lot of very good-looking friends. You just point out to me any you’re interested in, and I’ll make sure you get introduced.”

Mordred looked at him sharply for a moment, then back at the driveway which had widened out into a car park that was starting to fill. He was silent for a few moments while he reversed into a space, then turned the engine off. “I won’t be interested.”

“You work far too hard as well,” Arthur pointed out. “You can’t have your whole life revolving around looking after me.”

“I enjoy looking after you.” Mordred’s hands had tightened around the steering wheel. Arthur could see the knuckles turning white with the tension. “I’m good at it.”

“Yes, but…”

Mordred looked at him again, and there was a wealth of hunger and longing in his face. “I’d look after you _all_ the time, if you asked me to. Day _and_ night.”

 _Oh god._ Morgana had warned Arthur that Mordred was a little bit too fond of him and that perhaps inviting him to the wedding wasn’t the best idea. But Arthur hadn’t wanted to turn up alone. Or worse, with his sister on his arm. That would have been really admitting defeat.

Arthur didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to compose a suitable response that wouldn’t cost him his PA or hurt Mordred’s feelings.

“That’s… very flattering,” he began. “But we work together and…”

“I can resign.”

Okay, that wasn’t the way Arthur wanted the conversation to go. “No, you’re brilliant at your job. I’d hate to lose you. What I was going to say is that I’m not really in a great place at the moment and I’m not looking to start a new relationship right now.”

“But when you are…”

“When I am, I’ll let you know,” Arthur promised, desperately hoping that it wasn’t something that he was going to regret saying because he simply did not see Mordred that way. “But honestly, you should make the most of this weekend. You might meet someone amazing.”

“I already did,” Mordred told him, and there was that look again with all the want and longing.

It was a little bit worrying because Arthur just hadn’t picked up on it. Morgana had though. She would probably be smug about being right if she ever found out about this.

“Let’s just enjoy the weekend. Come on, this is supposed to be an amazing hotel.” Arthur opened the car door and got out. A moment later Mordred followed suit, though he didn’t look very happy.

Grabbing his case from the boot, Arthur couldn’t get into the hotel quickly enough. Mordred was maintaining a sulky silence and trailed along behind him with his own case.

Arthur wondered why his life always had to be so complicated.

The hotel was a beautiful Palladian manor fronted by an impressive pediment and marble steps. Gwen and Lance were busy posing for yet more photographs beside one of the columns. They looked perfectly, disgustingly happy. As they should on their wedding day. Gwen smiled and waved when she saw him, and he gave a cheery wave back.

They were a great couple and he was happy for them, but still he would be glad when the weekend was over. It was proving to be more of an ordeal than he had expected, particularly with Mordred’s declaration thrown into the mix. Sighing heavily, Arthur headed up the steps and into the hotel.

The reception hall was spacious and ornate. There was a very grand staircase at the far end which wound its way up into the rest of the hotel. Fortunately there was also a rather more modern-looking lift built in. No attempts at period decoration would ever be able to completely disguise the lift doors, although someone had made a good stab at it. Arthur winced a little at the yellow fleur-de-lys patterned wallpaper that covered them. It would probably have looked better if they’d left the original metal.

There were a couple of people already at the reception desk, so Arthur stood in line.

“Oh!” Mordred suddenly exclaimed.

Arthur glanced round at Mordred, who was looking very worried as he bent over and fiddled with his case, taking out some papers. “What?”

“Um…” Mordred ducked his head, or perhaps that was just Arthur’s imagination. “I think I left something in the car, and I really need to make a call. Would you mind checking in for me? Here.” He handed Arthur their booking reservations. “Really sorry. Could you text me my room number? I’ll be up as soon as I can.”

And with that he was gone, straight out of the hotel without waiting for a reply, leaving Arthur just staring after him. Sometimes Mordred could be a little odd, and it definitely looked as if it was turning out to be one of those days.

The reception staff seemed to be quite efficient and got through the queue speedily enough. Arthur found himself at the front in no time. He picked up his case and stepped up to the desk, where the man behind the counter greeted him with a trained and professional smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Good afternoon, Sir. Welcome to Essetir Towers.”

The rest of what he said was lost on Arthur. Because his face was very familiar. Not just his face. There was the long dark hair that he had tied back into an immaculate ponytail. Arthur knew what that looked like wild and free. Also Arthur could see the tip of a tattoo poking out of the cuff of the pressed white shirt. He knew that was some sort of Celtic knot that stretched all the way to the elbow. _Mr Cenred King – Manager_ was engraved on a badge pinned to the man’s jacket. Well, at least Arthur had a name now. The weekend was just getting worse.

Cenred looked as if he was awaiting a reply. “Sorry, Sir. Did you say that you were with the wedding party?”

Arthur wasn’t quite sure what to do. How did you cope with coming face to face with someone that you’d only ever seen fucking your ex-boyfriend into the mattress? He tried to compose himself.

“Yes, I am.”

“Wonderful! Mr and Mrs Du Lac are such a lovely couple. We’re so happy to be hosting their reception here this weekend. Could I have your name please?”

“Arthur Pendragon.”

Cenred frowned at the name. He looked down at his monitor, tapped a few keys, then looked back up at Arthur. “Why is that name so familiar? I can’t see you on here as a previous customer.” He beamed at Arthur with what he probably thought was a winning smile. “Have we met? I can’t believe I’d forget.”

“No. But I think you know my ex-boyfriend, Merlin.”

Arthur saw the realisation sink in and the professionalism slipped for a moment. “Merlin! I’ve been trying to get hold of him. He won’t take my calls. He… Ah. Arthur. Oh.”

“Yes. Well that was a long time ago now and we’ve long since split. I also need to register my assistant, his paperwork is here.” Arthur pushed Mordred’s booking form across the counter, resisting the urge to drum his fingers impatiently. He could cheerfully kick Mordred for abandoning him at the worst possible moment and was half-tempted to not bother booking him in.

Cenred had his head down and was typing as fast as he could. He glanced a few times at the other receptionist, but she was busy with another customer a little further down the counter and wasn’t going to be able to rescue him if that was what he was hoping for. Arthur made a note to check she was available before going anywhere near that desk again.

“If I could have our keys? Soon? Then we won’t need to bother one another again during this visit.” Arthur held out his hand expectantly. It really was a shame Mordred had vanished, he thought again. Arthur could very happily have delegated the check-in instead of it apparently being the other way around. Cenred evidently felt the same. He managed to drop the key cards twice before handing them over.

“304 and 306. Turn left when you come out of the lift.”

“Thank you,” Arthur said as coldly as he could.

“I’m sorry,” Cenred blustered. “Sir, please don’t give the hotel a bad review on Trip Advisor for this. I swear I didn’t know about you until the next morning.”

That was a lie and Arthur knew it. “I saw the email.”

“What email? Merlin’s never returned any of my calls. I don’t have his email.”

Oh, Cenred was a good liar. He looked genuinely confused, and Arthur almost believed him. “I’m not discussing this. And you’re in luck, by the way. Merlin’s staying here this weekend too. You two can catch up.” He saw Cenred’s face light up a little at that and felt slightly sickened. “Though he’s single at the moment, so that’s probably not as appealing.”

With that he turned away and headed for the lift before he said or did something that, given he was supposed to be at a wedding, he really shouldn’t. Although of course he could come back the following week and punch Cenred’s lights out. The long-haired creep deserved that.

\---

Arthur’s room was every bit as clean and cosy as Gwen and Lance had promised. They’d spent a long romantic weekend there and come back singing the hotel’s praises (when they weren’t waving engagement rings in Arthur’s face). It would have been a wonderful place to stay with a partner. There was even a four-poster bed in the room. It was quite depressing the way that Arthur’s thoughts immediately turned to Merlin when he saw that.

He texted Mordred with the room numbers, and then started to unpack. There was some sort of drinks and nibbles event going on downstairs for the next few hours, and he didn’t really feel like socialising immediately. But as best man he was going to have duties, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to mope in his room for long. Just as he thought that there was a knock on the door.

“Mordred?” Arthur asked as he opened it. “Ah, Morgana.”

His sister raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow and swept into the room without waiting for an invitation. “Really, Arthur? Is it appropriate to have your staff in your hotel room?”

“No,” Arthur agreed. “But I have his key and he’ll be along to pick it up. Actually, I’m glad to see you. You were right about him being interested. So sit and have a coffee with me until he’s been and gone.”

Morgana had such a nasty laugh sometimes. When she was trying to impress, she could do a delicate, tinkling one that was effortlessly ladylike. But when it was just the two of them or she was with her friends, there was that awful cackle.

“Protection for my baby brother! How can I refuse?”

She probably just wanted to watch the awkwardness, he knew. “Kettle’s over there,” he told her, pointing. “Help yourself to coffee.”

“Coffee!” Morgana snorted and opened the mini bar instead. “Let’s see… what have we got… G&T? Beer? Mmmm…” she pulled out a full-sized bottle as if it were a trophy. “Ah! Pinot!”

Arthur would have preferred a beer but didn’t bother arguing. The doubtless very overpriced bottle was already being opened and decanted into two coffee cups.

“So, what did he do?” Morgana asked, handing Arthur his cup and settling herself down in one of the armchairs. “Book you both in the same room? Jump you in a lay-by? Damn! I wish I’d been there to see your face!”

Arthur shook his head and took a sip of the wine. It wasn’t bad, though he knew he could probably get a bottle of the same quality for £6.99 in Tesco. “He just suggested we get together. Nothing entertaining, Morgs.”

“You’re all flustered though, aren’t you? I can tell!”

“Not about that.”

“Ah.” She did at least look a bit guilty. “Merlin. Sorry, I forgot for a moment. Which you should do too, you know that right?”

“Yes. And no, not Merlin. It’s not been easy, but we’ve both been perfectly civil to each other today. He even stopped me missing my cue in the church. No, it’s the receptionist here. Did you see him?”

“The smarmy one with the ponytail?”

“That’s him. He’s the one in the video. He admitted as much. He’s going to be all over Merlin, and I don’t think I can stand to watch it.”

Morgana hadn’t ever actually seen the video as far as Arthur knew. He’d refused to allow her, despite numerous requests at the time. Morgana had been one of Merlin’s strongest supporters because she really didn’t believe that he would do that to Arthur. But then the results of the tests on the video came back and she’d stopped defending him.

“Really? I mean, he’s not what you’d expect Merlin to go for. I always assumed it was someone… well, someone different. I thought they’d be more like Gwaine, charismatic and fun. That man downstairs is a bit of a creep. Are you sure?”

“Yes. I saw that video several times. It’s him. And you should have seen his face light up when I told him Merlin was here this weekend. Apparently he’s been trying to get in touch with him for ages and Merlin hasn’t been calling him back.”

“Probably annoyed at losing the good thing he was onto with you,” Morgana growled angrily. She tipped back the rest of her wine and stood up, looking murderous.

“Er… Where are you going? You were supposed to stay here and protect me from possible harassment claims?”

Morgana just waved her hand at him. “You can look after yourself. I’m going down to give that nasty little creep a piece of my mind! And warn him that if he does _anything_ to ruin this weekend for Gwen and Lance, then I’ll have him fired!”

“He’s the manager.”

“Manager. Not owner. Trust me, Arthur. I’ve got your back.”

Arthur didn’t bother arguing. He knew his sister far too well for that. And he’d probably want to do the same if it was the other way around. In fact he’d have long since flattened anyone who had done anything like that to Morgana.

“Don’t make a scene,” he warned as she headed for the door.

Morgana just smiled at him far too sweetly…

\---

Merlin waited alone in the reception hall of the hotel.

He’d driven there by himself because although everyone was civil enough to him these days, they still weren’t really friendly enough to include him in offers of lifts. Gwen and Lance were the only ones who regularly contacted him, and he knew full well that was completely down to Gwen. Lovely sweet Gwen who stuck by him through everything. One day, when he’d found a way to prove his innocence over the supposed infidelity, he was going to find a way to pay her back and show the world what a beautifully kind and loyal friend she was.

And because of her, he had gone through with the whole man of honour thing. He’d do anything for Gwen and still felt terrible about making her cry at the rehearsal. Elyan could be as angry as he liked because the worst thing for Merlin had been seeing Gwen’s tears. Merlin was determined to give as good a speech as he could during the reception in an attempt to make up for it.

The couple in front of him were querying something with the receptionist, slowing things down. Merlin wasn’t in any particular rush… until the lift doors opened and Morgana emerged looking furious.

“Merlin!”

Merlin was fairly sure he hadn’t done anything wrong, but past experience had taught him that this counted for nothing. He eyed her warily as she stalked across the hall towards him.

“Morgana.”

“Excellent timing. I have the pair of you here!”

“The pair of us?” Merlin was fairly sure he was there by himself. “Are you seeing double?” She’d probably already been on the wine, which didn’t bode well.

Then the couple in front moved away and it was Merlin’s turn at reception. Morgana gave a disgusted snort and stood there beside him with her arms folded while he checked in.

The long-haired receptionist had a similar look about him to the man in that fateful video, Merlin thought. That would explain why Morgana was glaring at both of them. It was hard not to be prejudiced.

“Good afternoon, Sir and Madam. Welcome to Essetir Towers. Are you with the wedding party?”

“It’s just me,” Merlin corrected him. “I think Morgana already booked in. We’re not together.”

“Yes, make that clear,” Morgana hissed. “As if he doesn’t know.”

The receptionist – Cenred it said on the name badge – looked faintly puzzled but continued with his practiced routine. “And can I have your name, Sir? I can allocate you to your room and get you settled in.”

Morgana snorted at that once again.

“Merlin Emrys.”

Cenred’s head shot up and he stared at Merlin. “But… you’re not Merlin.”

“I definitely am!”

“No… Merlin’s shorter and… no, you’re not him.”

Merlin glanced at Morgana who had stopped glaring and was now narrowing her eyes suspiciously at them. “Is this some sort of joke?” he sighed. “I’m really not in the mood for it. Whatever you all think, I loved your brother and this weekend is really tough for me. So come on with the punchline and let’s get it over with so I can go up to my room and have a few minutes before I have to stand up in front of a whole load of people who hate me and try to be entertaining.”

Morgana held up her hands. “I’m not playing any sort of joke,” she promised. “But surely you two know each other?”

Merlin looked at Cenred, then shook his head. “He looks like the guy in… that video. But I’ve never seen him before.”

“What video?” Cenred asked, starting to sound a little concerned. He looked around nervously, probably wondering if his boss was around. “I’ve never seen this man before in my life. He’s not the Merlin I know.”

Merlin took out his driving licence and pushed it across the counter. “Here. I’m sorry, there was some trouble about a year ago where someone framed me. Nothing to do with you.”

“That’s not true,” Morgana put in. “He admitted to Arthur earlier that it was him with you. Arthur’s devastated.”

“Oh!” Cenred took a step back and almost collided with the printer behind him. “I did, but this isn’t the same guy. This isn’t my Merlin.”

“No,” Merlin told him coldly. “I’m not.” He pulled out his phone and accessed the internet. It didn’t take long to pull up Pendragon Advertising’s personnel page. Right there next to Arthur and Morgana’s smiling mugshots was a picture of Arthur’s PA. “Might this be him?”

Cenred frowned down at the screen. “Yes, that’s Merlin.”

“No. That’s Mordred Black, Arthur’s PA,” Merlin told him.

“He said his name was Merlin. Said he liked hearing me say it.”

“I bet he did.”

Morgana stared at them both. “But… it’s you in the video, Merlin!”

“The video that _Mordred_ had checked,” Merlin reminded her. “He must have hired someone with magic to create this. I’d bet it was never properly checked.”

Morgana gave a little gasp and put her hand to her mouth. “Oh god. Oh sweetheart… I’m so sorry! I just believed him when he said he’d checked it and it was genuine. I should have known you wouldn’t do that!” She flung her arms around him in a huge hug. Merlin hesitated for a moment and then hugged her back. “Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry!”

“What video?” Cenred frowned, watching them both. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Merlin extricated himself from Morgana, although she wouldn’t completely let go of him. She was crying a little bit as well and in danger of ruining her makeup. “I’m afraid Mordred has faked a sex tape of you and me. He must have recorded the pair of you together and then used that.”

Cenred looked shocked. “But he didn’t record us. I would have noticed, I’m careful about that sort of thing. In my job… oh god, this isn’t on the internet is it? I’ll get fired.”

“No. It was sent to Arthur to split him and Merlin up, and it succeeded,” Morgana explained. “Oh, we need to tell Arthur. He’ll be so happy. Well, not with Mordred, but he’s pined for you for a whole year, Merlin. He’s been miserable without you.”

That was good to hear. Merlin had been desperately unhappy without Arthur too. But there had to be absolutely no doubt before they told Arthur.

“No, we should wait for proof. I don’t want him to have the slightest doubt on this. I have a friend who works in magical fraud. They’ve got a whole department for this sort of thing. I asked her about it, but Freya said she needed to have the actual video in order to examine it. And I haven’t exactly been able to ask Arthur for a copy.” He looked to Morgana hopefully. “Can you get one for me? Freya’s been seeing Percival. I think she’s going to be here this weekend.”

“What, that little tiny girl?” Morgana exclaimed. “Honestly? That’s what she does? I didn’t even know she had magic. I wish she’d said. She’s really quiet. I’ve never had a proper conversation with her.”

“She probably didn’t realise that you have magic too,” Merlin reassured her. “I met her at a user’s support group a few years back. You can’t stop her chatting once she feels comfortable with you. And you _can_ be a bit intimidating sometimes.”

Morgana pouted at him and just for a moment reminded him of her brother. The resemblance was rarely apparent, but it was there then. “I’m not,” she grumbled, but it was without much conviction.

Cenred was looking at her hopefully as well. “Please find a copy of this thing. I really need it to be proved fake,” he told them. “I can’t have anything like that out there. My career would be on the skids. I’m only acting manager here until they recruit a new one, but it’s been going well and I know the owner’s pleased with the way I’m running things. I was hoping it was going to be permanent. I can’t have a scandal.”

“You won’t. And we can have Mordred arrested once it’s been proved,” Merlin assured him. “That’s why we have to be careful. If he knows we’re onto him, he might stick it on the internet or something. Or he might just delete every trace of it, and then I’ll never be able to prove to Arthur that it was a fake.”

“You’re right,” Morgana sighed. “Oh, I wish you weren’t. I wish we could go up there right now and tell him the truth. He’d be so happy.”

“And you really think we can stop him confronting Mordred?” Merlin arched an eyebrow at her. “I don’t! He’s going to be furious. It’s all I can do not to find the little shit and turn him into a frog or something for what he’s done. Arthur’s got a temper much worse than mine. He’ll be lucky if he’s not done for assault.”

“Or murder,” Morgana agreed. “Okay. I agree.” She turned to Cenred. “Please keep this to yourself for now. I swear we’ll sort it out, but Mordred mustn’t know. Nor Arthur.”

“Okay,” Cenred agreed. Merlin wasn’t entirely sure that he trusted him, but there was nothing he could do.

“I’ll go and find a copy of that film,” Morgana promised. “We’ll make this right. Merlin, see if you can find Freya. And again I am so, so sorry for not believing you.”

She hugged Merlin once more, then strode off purposefully towards the lift.

Merlin and Cenred just looked at each other for one very awkward moment.

“So,” Merlin said eventually. “Maybe I could have my room key?”

\---

Morgana was back a lot faster than Arthur had expected.

There was still no sign of Mordred, which was odd. Perhaps he’d decided to resign after Arthur’s rejection and Arthur was going to get back into the office on Monday and find a note on his desk. That would be a disaster with the Brussels move coming up.

“That creep won’t be bothering Merlin,” Morgana assured him as she settled back down into the armchair and reached for the wine bottle again. “I warned him we’d report him to the owner if there was any trouble. He’s angling for a promotion, so no worries. You can relax. More wine?”

Arthur held his cup out because it was still going to be a stressful weekend. While Morgana was away he’d fired up his laptop and pulled up his speech. He’d been going over it, worrying about pretty much every part of it. “Thanks. Although I’ll be the one paying for it.”

“We. We’ll pay for it Arthur. All our money comes from our joint business. Does it matter if it’s in your bank account or mine?”

“I’ll remind you of that next time I’m planning on a big spend,” Arthur sighed. “And this speech is terrible. Can you think of some funny stories that Lance isn’t going to kill me for mentioning?”

Morgana shrugged. “Funny stories? Lance? Now if it was Gwaine… but Lance? He’s the most sensible and squeaky-clean person we know!”

It was true. Arthur gazed miserably at the screen again.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Morgana continued.

Arthur froze, because Morgana thinking never ever boded well. “What?”

“That video, the one that caused all the trouble. What happened to it? Do you still have it?”

“Yes, I love to watch my ex-boyfriend being pounded by another man!” Arthur snapped sarcastically. “Of course I don’t have it. I forwarded Mordred a copy for testing and deleted the original email.”

“Do you have…?” Morgana paused, as there was a knock on the door. “Ah, never mind.”

This time it was Mordred. He was wearing a beanie pulled down over his ears, which was a bit odd because it wasn’t that cold.

“Where have you been?” Morgana asked. She sounded a little terse, Arthur thought, but perhaps it was just his imagination. Morgana had always got along very well with Mordred. “Arthur had to check in both of you. And guess who was on the front desk?”

Mordred stepped into the room, pulling the beanie off and stuffing it into his pocket. “Um… I don’t know. Sorry, I had to make a call.”

“It was that guy Merlin shagged,” Morgana snapped. “But don’t worry, I’ve dealt with it. He’ll be keeping away from Arthur and Merlin over the weekend. Honestly, Mordred, of all the times to vanish!”

“Sorry,” Mordred said again.

“It’s fine.” Arthur handed over Mordred’s key. “You’re next door.”

“Yes, try not to disappear again,” Morgana told him. “The reception’s in a couple of hours.” She got up and held the door open for him. Mordred gave her a slightly puzzled look but left anyway, Morgana closing the door behind him.

“I thought you liked Mordred?” Arthur pointed out.

“Always wary when staff get a little too fond of us. Remember that Sophia girl years ago who just couldn’t understand that you didn’t do women? That took a lot of sorting out. Anyway, Mordred wasn’t there when you needed him just now so he’s in my bad books.” She went over to Arthur’s laptop and peered at the document open on it. “Mind if I read through this, Arthur? I’ll see if I can make any improvements for you.”

Sometimes he could just kiss her, although he knew he’d just get teased for being soft if he did. Morgana was bright and witty, and that speech would be a thousand times better for her magic touch. “Please do.”

She beamed at him and took the laptop back to her armchair, then sat there working on it. He could hear the steady tap-tap of her fingers on the keys although he couldn’t see what she was actually changing.

“Maybe save a copy of mine first?” he suggested worriedly. There seemed to be quite a lot of typing going on.

“Oh don’t worry, Arthur,” she cooed reassuringly, smiling kindly at him. “I’m going to make everything right.”

\---

 

To: [MerlinWizardMan@magic.com](mailto:MerlinWizardMan@magic.com)

From: [MPendragon@Pendragon.com](mailto:MPendragon@Pendragon.com)

19th September 2017 14:03

Subject: Success!

Hi Merlin

That stupid brother of mine hasn’t cleared out his sent items in YEARS. No wonder our server’s always running so slowly. Honestly, he’s about as technical as a hamster! Anyway, I’m attaching a copy of the email he forwarded to that little shit Mordred. Hopefully Freya will be able to work her magic on it and this horrible mess will be behind us.

Again, I am so sorry for ever doubting you.

M x

Merlin stared at his phone. Specifically, he stared at the attachment on the email from Morgana. That was it, the video that had ruined his life.

He hadn’t seen the thing since that fateful evening when it had turned up in Arthur’s mailbox. Even then, he’d only seen bits of it and very briefly. He was torn between wanting to see it for himself properly and just not wanting to know. He texted Freya to find out where she was, then sent one to Morgana as well.

 _‘Thanks. Hope you didn’t watch it_.’

 _‘You think I want to see that receptionist’s doubtless spotty and pasty bum? No thanks!’_ she answered.

 _‘Never sure with you!’_ he sent back, signing it with a little smiley.

_‘Cheek! Found Freya yet?’_

Merlin was about to reply, but then his phone rang. Caller ID showed it was Freya. Crossing his fingers, he answered it.

“Hi Freya.”

“Hi! Where are you? The canapes are wonderful! Perce just ate a whole platter of these little tiny fishy things. Think he’s going to be sick!”

“Light snack!” Merlin heard Percival call in the background. “Who’re you talking to?”

“It’s Merlin, shush.”

Merlin didn’t miss the fact that the banter stopped at that point. He could imagine Percival standing there looking worriedly at Freya. The situation Mordred had caused was awkward for everyone, and the sooner it was sorted out the better.

“Morgana’s given me a copy of the video,” Merlin explained.

“Morgana? Really?”

“We’re good. She believes me, finally. Frey, I know it’s the weekend, but this is really important. Is there any way…”

“Consider it done. Can you email it to me? I’ll send it to the lab to get official results, but it might take a few hours. Unless you brought a laptop, or the hotel has a computer we could use to have a look at it as well?”

Merlin hadn’t brought anything like that. His speech was mostly on scraps of paper, although he could probably access an older version on google docs. If he could find it on his phone. Really, he wasn’t much better than Arthur.

“I can ask the hotel. The receptionist is the guy in the video. He wants this cleared up nearly as much as I do.”

“What, the guy with the ponytail? Eww!”

Not Freya’s type obviously. Freya’s type was tall, short-haired and built like Hercules. And apparently was clearing out the canape selection.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t sleep with him Freya. I don’t even know him. Listen, can I meet you down at the front desk in about ten minutes? I’ll see if I can find a computer we can use.”

As Freya agreed, Merlin suddenly felt more hopeful about the future than he had for almost an entire year…

\---

Morgana had been on Arthur’s laptop for nearly half an hour.

She was typing away furiously, occasionally distracted by text messages coming in. Arthur was getting bored.

“Maybe I should have a look at what you’ve done so far?” Arthur suggested. “There’s only about an hour or so now until the dinner starts. I should familiarise myself with your revisions.”

Morgana just shushed him, and kept typing. “Patience, little brother.” Her phone beeped again, and she picked it up. “Oh.”

“Why don’t you just go and call whoever it is that keeps texting you? I can look at the speech while you’re gone.” He moved over to her side and tried to see what was on the screen.

“Er, no.” Morgana lowered the lid on the laptop. “Wait until it’s finished.”

“That’s email!”

“Research. I was asking a friend for help.”

“On my email?”

“I’ve logged into mine. Oh Arthur, why don’t you go down and mingle with the guests? You’re best man after all. You shouldn’t be hiding up here. I’ll call you when the speech is ready. You’re distracting me. Besides, I do need to make a call. Go on, shoo!”

“But this is my room.”

Morgana just flapped a hand at him, indicating he should go. He knew from experience that he was unlikely to win an argument, so he did as he was told. It was easier.

Except it wasn’t easier, because he stupidly chose to walk down the stairs. And just at that moment _of course_ Merlin had to emerge on the second floor landing right in front of him, then stand there looking horribly guilty. As if Arthur had caught him out.

“Heading down to see your friend on reception?” Arthur asked. He wished he’d braved Morgana and stayed in his room.

“What? No… he’s not my friend. It’s Freya. I’m meeting Freya. You remember her?”

“She’s dating Percival, so yes, I’ve seen her a few times recently. But you knew exactly who I meant.”

Merlin gave a heavy sigh. “I wish you’d just believe me, Arthur. I love you. I’ve always loved you and I always will. I have never, ever cheated on you despite what you think.”

“That video…”

“It’s a fake, like I’ve told you over and over. I really wish you’d believe me.” He turned away, shoulders slumped and head down. His phone was ringing in his pocket, but Merlin didn’t take any notice of it.

“Merlin,” Arthur called after him softly, and his ex stopped but didn’t turn. “I want to. I really do. Sometimes I miss you so much that I can hardly bear it. Sometimes I just don’t care what you’ve done and I want you back.”

Merlin did turn then, gazing at him with so much love and longing that it was all Arthur could do not to run down those few steps and take Merlin’s face in his hands and kiss him. But he could not, _would not_ do that.

“I wish more than anything that the results of the test had come back showing it was a fake,” Arthur continued. “But they didn’t, and he’s right here in this building where you’re going to be spending the night, and I just want to walk out of the front door and leave.”

“Arthur…” Merlin took a tentative step towards him, one hand half-raised as if he were about to reach for him.

“There you are!”

Mordred appeared almost out of nowhere, hurrying down the stairs towards Arthur. If there was an award for bad timing, Mordred would have won it several times over by then. And if looks could kill, the one Merlin was giving Mordred would have finished him. Although Merlin couldn’t possibly know about Mordred’s offer earlier. It was probably just the interruption that was annoying him. Arthur was half-glad of Mordred’s appearance himself because he wasn’t sure what he had been about to do. Or rather, he was sure and it would probably have been a huge mistake. Merlin had betrayed his trust, after all.

But Arthur loved him still, so very very much…

“Leon says the canapes are amazing!” Mordred told him brightly. “Come on, I’ve found a back staircase that leads right to the garden area.”

“We may as well go through reception,” Arthur pointed out. “We’re halfway.”

“No, I saw who was down there. I’m only thinking of you,” Mordred asserted. “Come on, before all the champagne is gone.”

The worst thing was that Merlin just let them go and didn’t even put up a fight. Arthur had thought he might call after them, try to get Arthur to stay after what he’d just said. But there was nothing. Arthur was aware of Merlin’s eyes on him as he left, and he tried not to look back. He’d made enough of a fool of himself.

Faintly he could hear Merlin finally answering his phone and couldn’t help glancing over his shoulder. It sounded as if he were agreeing to meet someone.

Arthur could guess who that would be. Grimly he followed Mordred, trying to get as far from Merlin as possible.

\---

Merlin watched Arthur walking away from him. It was difficult to let Arthur go with Mordred, knowing that the man was responsible for every iota of the pain that Merlin could see in Arthur’s eyes. But Merlin was so close to having hard evidence of what Mordred had done and he couldn’t do anything to jeopardise that. Arthur had to have absolutely no doubt that Merlin had never, ever cheated on him. And if Mordred got an inkling that he knew the truth, then he might cover his tracks.

He turned his attention to his phone, which had started ringing again. “Hello.”

It was Morgana. “I’ve got rid of Arthur for a while.”

“I know. Just saw him. He’s gone down to the garden with Mordred.” Merlin started to resume his walk downstairs.

Morgana swore. “Well he won’t be going anywhere with him for much longer. You texted me that you were looking for a laptop? I’ve got Arthur’s. Bring Freya up to 304, and hopefully we can sort this mess out before that little creep does any more damage.”

That sounded good to Merlin. Having Morgana on side was a huge relief. If she believed him, then there was every chance that he could make Arthur believe him as well. He hurried down the stairs and into the reception hall. Freya was waiting there for him. So was Percival, standing right beside her with his impressively-muscled arms folded across his chest. He didn’t look too pleased.

“Hi Merlin!” Freya skipped up to him and greeted him with a hug. “Oh, don’t you look smart in your suit! I’ll try not to crumple it!”

Percival just frowned at him. Merlin could understand why. Mordred had cost Merlin so many friends even though few of them actually seemed to know the full facts. Percival was going to be protective of his girlfriend, and Merlin could hardly fault him for that. Especially if Freya had opened the file he’d emailed her from his phone and Percival had seen the fake film for himself. Although if that had happened, Merlin thought he’d probably have been punched – either on Arthur’s behalf or simply for sending something so disgusting to Freya.

“Thanks for doing this, Frey. Sorry it’s such a gross thing to look at.”

She shrugged. “What’re friends for? Besides, this is my job. I guarantee you I’ll have seen worse. I can cope with your naked gay butt!”

Percival’s frown deepened. Merlin tried not to look at him. Those were mighty fists and could do some serious damage. He tried to let his gaze fall anywhere else. That wasn’t entirely successful either – across the room he could see Cenred leaving the reception desk and heading over to them.

“Morgana’s found a laptop,” Merlin explained, hoping they could leave without having to talk to the man. Cenred claimed he had no knowledge of the recording, but Merlin could never be 100% certain of that. “Actually, it’s Arthur’s. He’s not there at the moment, so if we go up now perhaps you could have a look at the file?”

Freya beamed at him. “It’s already gone across to head office. They’ll put it through the official process, so you’ll get a proper certificate of magical fraud and everything. I marked it urgent so it shouldn’t take long. But I can test a copy for you. It would be faster.”

“Did you find it?” Cenred asked as he strode up to them. “I need to see what he’s done.”

Merlin sighed. “We’re going up now.” He turned to the other man, trying not to feel too nervous. Percival was a very fair man, after all. So he probably wouldn’t use those fists without good cause. “Perce. I know you don’t trust me, and it’s a big leap of faith and everything. But I never cheated on Arthur and I never would, and we’re going to prove that.”

“So Freya says.”

“Arthur’s outside right now, with Mordred. Could you just keep him out there until we’re done? And… just watch out for Mordred. He’s not the little saint everyone thinks he is.”

“Please Perce,” Freya added. “Honestly, you know I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t 100% certain Merlin’s innocent.”

“If you’re lying…” Percival warned Merlin.

“Then you and the others can take turns using me as a punch bag if you like.” Merlin ignored Percival’s indignant snort at the idea they’d do such a thing. “I don’t care what you might do because I’m not lying!”

“And this is something to do with Mordred?” Percival wondered.

“Yes!” Cenred snapped unhelpfully.

“But we don’t want him to know we’re onto him,” Merlin put in quickly. “So don’t say anything. Just… don’t leave him alone with Arthur.” His phone started ringing again. He didn’t need to look at it to know it would be Morgana wondering what was taking them so long. “Please, Percival.”

Percival sighed, shaking his head. “Fine,” he agreed. “But I’d better not regret doing this.”

\---

The canapes were not amazing.

Arthur stood out in the garden eating the tasteless snacks and watching the wedding guests mingling. He wished he’d never agreed to come along. He’d known it was a bad idea to go anywhere near Merlin. His feelings for the man were still there, and now he’d gone and blurted them all out. There was the dinner and speech still to come with Merlin right there with him, and Arthur wasn’t sure how he was going to get through it.

“I shouldn’t have done this,” he sighed, taking another sip of the sparkling wine that Mordred had thoughtfully fetched for him.

“I did say it was a bad idea,” Mordred agreed. “We could leave. I’m sure Merlin can do the speech. He always seems to have a lot to say for himself.”

“I can’t let Lance down.”

“But…”

“No,” Arthur said firmly. “I’m here, I’m going to do this. But I want to leave first thing in the morning. I don’t want to have to run into him at breakfast. Actually, if this is an example of their catering, I don’t think I want any of their food anyway!” He took another bite of the small pastry whatever-it-was and grimaced. Possibly there was fish in there somewhere, but it was difficult to tell.

“More for me!” Percival suddenly appeared beside them, a small plate of the canapes in his hand and Gwaine and Leon at his side. “I really like these ones with the cheese and pineapple.” He offered the plate in Arthur’s direction and only looked slightly sad when Arthur took one.

“Not bad, but honestly this tastes like it’s been bought in a budget supermarket and frozen for three months,” Arthur grumbled.

“They’re really good,” Leon told him. “Maybe you’re coming down with something and it’s affecting your taste buds!”

“Only one way to tell,” Gwaine put in. “Is the wine okay? Because this is good stuff!”

The wine seemed tasteless too, but that would probably seem like sacrilege to Gwaine so Arthur shook his head. “It’s good. Ignore me.”

“Worried about the speech?” Leon asked. Arthur knew that Leon would probably have written it three months ago and gone through it for edits every day since. He’d have it word-perfect but wouldn’t have slept for the past week worrying that it was going to go wrong.

“Yes. With good reason. Morgana’s upstairs ‘improving’ it for me. God knows what it’s going to be like when she’s finished.”

“It’ll be brilliant,” Mordred told him. He’d got that look on his face again, gazing adoringly at Arthur like he’d done in the car. Arthur wondered how he’d missed just how strongly Mordred felt about him. “You’re always amazing, Arthur.”

Gwaine coughed, choking a little on his drink as he tried not to laugh. “Yeah, amazing!”

Arthur was still not entirely sure about Gwaine. There was always that doubt from the comment in the email. Gwaine swore he’d never touched Merlin, but there was no way of ever knowing. And he did know that Merlin had gone off with other men – he’d seen that in glorious technicolour for himself. But this was a wedding and Gwaine was with Leon now, and Leon was one of Arthur’s best friends. So he said nothing, and instead let Leon tell him all about various tips he’d learned for public speaking. Never mind that Arthur did it all the time, they both knew that having the reminders there right before a big speech was always helpful.

“I’d just have a couple of shots of whiskey,” Gwaine advised. “That always helps. Speech is still crap, but you don’t care!”

“Ever helpful,” Arthur told him drily. “I think I’ll go and see what Morgana’s produced.” He put his glass down on the nearest garden table, and turned to go. His way was blocked by Percival and Leon.

“I think she’ll text you when she’s ready,” Leon told him, Percival nodding agreement.

“I think I should go up,” Arthur said again, and tried to get past them.

“I think you should have some more wine,” Gwaine advised, liberating a couple more glasses from one of the waiters’ trays as they passed. “Here, this one’s pink.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes, suddenly suspicious. He was aware that Percival and Leon had positioned themselves between him and the door, and that Gwaine was on the other side with Mordred. It was almost as if he’d been corralled in. They were up to something. He’d joined in with enough of their pranks at uni to recognise the signs. Worse, Morgana was involved, and so was Arthur’s speech. He had to do something, fast.

“You’re right,” he told them, and saw Percival relax. Percival had always been hopeless at hiding anything. “Let’s have that glass, Gwaine. Maybe it’s better than the last lot.”

Gwaine beamed and handed over the wine. Arthur took it and started discussing the speech with them. He concentrated on asking them for suggestions, and was careful not to mention leaving again. Then the waiter returned with more canapes, and Arthur saw his opportunity to escape.

“You know, those ones weren’t bad,” he claimed, pointing at the tray. “I tried some on the way through. You’d probably really like them.”

They all turned away from Arthur at the same moment. All but Mordred, who probably wasn’t in on it anyway. Arthur saw his chance and made a run for it. He was through the patio doors and back into the reception area in moments. Not for nothing had Arthur been the university sprint champion two years in a row. He could hear them calling him back, but he just ran faster.

Arthur just hoped he could get up there in time to stop Morgana doing whatever it was.

\---

Naturally, Merlin thought, Arthur would have one of the biggest rooms in the hotel.

Admittedly, that creepy little weasel of an assistant would have booked it for him, but still it always had to be the best for Arthur. Still, in this case it was just as well that the room was large because there were now four of them in there all crowded round the desk and the laptop.

Freya had connected to her remote working account and had loaded the video up into it. Merlin was not looking forward to seeing it again, but he’d suffer it if doing so meant he got Arthur back. After their meeting on the stairwell, he was very, very hopeful that they’d get back together. Just as long as Freya was as good at her job as she was always saying she was.

“Gilli just messaged me,” she told them happily. “The recording’s definitely a fake. He thinks I should be able to crack it from here. It’s not got any security on it, quite amateur. Any half-decent fraud investigator would have found it.”

“Obviously you’re better than half-decent,” Merlin put in before Freya said so herself.

“Obviously. Now what we’ll do is take it apart and see what’s been done, then you can call Arthur up and we can do it over again with another copy so that he can see the process for himself. That usually works very well in these sorts of cases.”

“You do this a lot then?” Morgana asked. She almost sounded impressed, Merlin thought. But Morgana usually preferred magic users over anyone else. With the exception of Arthur, of course.

“All the time. There was quite a run on revenge porn last year. I see some very strange things. Best if you don’t tell Perce!”

Morgana laughed and leaned in closer to the other woman, watching carefully for a few minutes. “I wonder if I could have used my magic in a job like this?” she asked.

“Maybe. You can come in with me one day and see what we do if you like. We’re always looking for new recruits.”

“I’d like that.”

Arthur wouldn’t be too happy about possibly losing Morgana, especially as he was almost certainly going to have to sack Mordred as well, Merlin thought. Still, that was Arthur’s problem, and one for later.

“When can we call Arthur?” Merlin asked. “I don’t like him being off with Mordred, even if he’s got Percival as bodyguard. Mordred wouldn’t even use the main stairway in case he ran into you, Cenred. He said he’d found some back stairway that led right down into the garden, and he took Arthur there.”

“That’s the service stairwell,” Cenred confirmed. “We keep it locked because it has access right up to the roof and we don’t want kids running up there.”

“So Mordred can pick locks too,” Merlin commented. “You and Arthur chose a really honest sort for Arthur’s PA, didn’t you?” he added to Morgana.

“We didn’t know,” she protested. “He had great references. And he’s a hard worker… well, we thought he was.”

“Well, he’ll just have used his magic to open the door, surely?” Cenred pointed out.

“What?” Morgana gasped. “He doesn’t have magic.”

“Oh, he does. He’s pretty powerful,” Cenred corrected. “He kept showing it off to me. Said he was like Merlin the wizard.”

“Oh well, that explains everything!” Merlin sighed. “No wonder he’s been able to do this. He’s probably got access to all Arthur’s private files. Every photo Arthur ever took, all those private moments…”

“But he’s not registered!” Morgana looked furious. “We’ve got an unregistered magic user on the books! We could lose so many clients! We could get sued!”

“Shush,” Freya urged them. “I need to concentrate on this.”

Mortifyingly, the video began to play.

Merlin cringed as the image of himself and Cenred filled the screen. It looked for all the world as if the man’s hands were all over him. They were both stark naked and kissing passionately. Merlin watched his own back arching with pleasure as Cenred started to… oh _god…_

“Jesus,” Cenred breathed. “How the hell did he superimpose you onto that?” He looked over at Merlin, a half-leering smile on his face. “You’ve got a good body though. You single?”

“Hopefully not after Arthur sees this,” Merlin replied coldly.

“Found it!” Freya announced happily, and the image began to blur a little on the screen. “Here’s the hook, now all I need to do…”

Merlin never found out what Freya needed to do next. Because right at that moment the door opened and he was face to face with a glaring Arthur, Mordred right on his heels.

“What the _hell’s_ going on here?”

\---

Arthur stood in the doorway of his room, staring at the scene before him.

Morgana and Merlin both looked guilty as hell, whilst Freya barely spared him a glance and carried on working on what looked like his laptop. Worst of all, that long-haired hotel manager was in there too. At least this time he and Merlin weren’t rolling around naked on the bed together. No, that was only in Arthur’s _home._

“Arthur!” Merlin sprang to his feet. “You need to see this.” He waved a hand towards the laptop.

To his horror Arthur saw the video of Merlin and Cenred playing on the screen. Freya and Morgana, of all people, had to have seen it. For a whole year Arthur had tried to keep it quiet and just told people some vague answer about Merlin cheating on him. He hadn’t wanted anyone to see that film, and now they were all sitting there watching it.

“I’ve seen it,” Arthur growled. “I don’t want to see it again, and I _really_ don’t appreciate you showing it to my sister!”

“Yes, I’m a delicate flower,” Morgana murmured.

“Here we go!” Freya cheered, clapping her hands together and sitting back. “This is where the two films separate.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I really do think you’ll want to see this, Arthur. The recording’s a fake. Oh and stop him!” She pointed to Mordred, who was backing out of the room quietly. He immediately turned and ran. Unfortunately for him, Percival, Gwaine and Leon had been only a little way behind and heard Freya’s shout. Mordred didn’t get very far.

Arthur, though, lost interest in anything else as Freya began to work her magic. The hateful, unbearable image of Merlin and Cenred seemed to twist and split across the screen. Merlin’s features faded and changed until they finally morphed into a very clear picture of Mordred. Mordred, who was having very vocal and enthusiastic sex with Cenred.

Arthur turned to his PA and just stared at him.

“You? You did this? But… why?”

Mordred glared back at him defiantly. “He’s not good enough for you! Every time I went over to your flat he’d just got all his crap everywhere and he didn’t care what you thought about it. He was just using you! He’s scruffy, he’s untidy... You’re a successful businessman. You were going to _marry_ him and you really think I was going to sit back and let that happen?”

Arthur heard Merlin make a small surprised sound at that, but Mordred hadn’t finished.

“You’re better off without him! Look how well the business has gone this year while you haven’t been distracted. You should be thanking me!”

“I loved him…” Arthur breathed. “And I trusted you!”

He would have said more, but Cenred pushed past him and grabbed Mordred by the front of his shirt.

“You little shit! If this is on the internet, I’m suing!”

Gwaine had been watching the video with disgust, but at Cenred’s words he glared at Arthur instead. “Is this why you’ve been so weird with me all year?” he demanded. “You thought I was in on this or something?”

Arthur shook his head. “I’m sorry. You were mentioned in the email…”

“You little worm!” Gwaine yelled, but he wasn’t talking to Arthur any more. Instead he was leaning over Cenred, trying to get to Mordred. “If I find you’ve made a film like that of me I’ll be suing too!”

“And don’t think I’m not calling the police!” Cenred added.

“Already done,” Freya told them. “It’s automatic when there’s a positive result. Head office will have called them. They’re already on their way.”

“They’ll have to catch me first,” Mordred snarled. Suddenly there was a burst of light and dust. Cenred was thrown backwards as was Gwaine. When the dust cleared Mordred had already made a run for it.

Leon, Gwaine, Cenred and Percival all raced after him. Arthur could hear their heavy footsteps on the stairs.

“He won’t get far,” Freya assured him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gwaine that angry. He’ll stop him. But now we know Mordred has magic there are ways he can be tracked down and stopped even if the guys lose him now. I’m afraid you’ll all have to make statements though. But I’m sure I can arrange for a fair bit of that to wait until Monday. It’s not as if there’s any doubt here.”

“I don’t understand how he got that footage of Merlin though,” Morgana said.

“It wouldn’t have been that difficult to get access to what he needed. This is why you should never film yourself. Even if it’s just a private thing between the two of you, once it’s recorded you can’t ever completely erase it. Not easily anyway. Hitting delete doesn’t do much. Look…” She enlarged the right hand side of the screen and to Arthur’s horror he saw a very intimate piece of film that he and Merlin had taken in the privacy of their own home. It was clearly the other half of the film that had been spliced together to create Merlin and Cenred.

“Oh my god…” Arthur exclaimed. “But I deleted that soon after we filmed it!”

“He must have got into your phone and computer,” Freya explained. “Did you trust him with passwords?”

“He was my PA, I had to!”

“Will you _please_ turn that off,” Morgana groaned, waving a hand at the video. “I really did _not_ need to see my brother having sex, _ever_. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks…”

Freya quickly reduced the screen again so that Merlin and Arthur weren’t visible. “Sorry.”

Merlin, Arthur noticed, hadn’t said one word. He was standing beside Freya, looking down at his feet and shuffling awkwardly.

“Merlin…” Arthur began.

Morgana immediately got to her feet and pulled Freya up with her. “Come on, let’s go and try those canapes! Quick!”

They were out of the room in moments, the door closing behind them, leaving Merlin and Arthur alone.

“I’m so sorry,” Arthur told Merlin. “It seemed so genuine, and when Mordred got it tested and it came back as the real thing, I didn’t doubt it. I should have done. I should have believed you. You must hate me.”

“It was very strong evidence, Arthur. I’m not sure I would have done if it was the other way round. And I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.”

“I should have believed you,” Arthur repeated. “Oh god, and so many times over the last few days Mordred got in the way when I was talking to you.”

Merlin gave him a small, shy little smile. “Sometimes it felt as if you were going to take me back, and then he’d burst in and push you away from me by fuelling all your doubts over again. He could only do that because you’re kind and good and trusting. Because you expect everyone else to be as decent a person as you are.”

“I’m not decent. I didn’t believe you. I threw you out of your _home_!”

“You were manipulated! Please, Arthur, let’s just get past this. None of this was your fault or mine. We’re both victims here. And if we don’t move on from it then he’s won.”

Arthur took a deep, steadying breath. He wanted to make sure he got this right. There could be no more misunderstandings. “What I said earlier, about wanting you back. I meant it. I’ve been miserable without you. It was like losing the other half of my soul.”

“Were you _really_ going to propose?”

Arthur nodded. “I had rings made, holiday planned. I didn’t want a life without you in it. I still don’t.”

Merlin swallowed, and took a small step forward, holding Arthur’s gaze now. “I’ve missed you too. So much.”

“Is there any chance you’d take me back? I know forgiving me is going to take an eternity but I still love you so much.”

Merlin took another step, then closed the gap between them. He reached out to frame Arthur’s face in his hands. “I forgive you,” he assured him. “I don’t blame you, and I love you, and I want you back. I don’t want to waste another second of my life in time spent without you.” And then he leaned forward and kissed him like he would never, ever let him go.

\---

# Epilogue

Lance and Gwen’s wedding was a beautiful affair.

True, there was a brief delay before the reception when one of the guests got arrested by the fraud squad, but apart from that, things went very well.

The bride looked radiant as she sat with her new husband. Her man of honour was a registered magic user and had managed to conjure up tiny delicate butterflies that danced and glittered around her as if she were some kind of faerie princess. The way her husband looked at her suggested that he probably thought that she was.

The food was delicious and the wine exquisite. Arthur couldn’t imagine why he’d thought earlier that it wasn’t. Merlin said it was because his wonderful company made everything taste better. Arthur agreed and was still feeling grateful enough at having him back that he told him so.

Still, you could always rely on the best man’s speech at any good wedding to lower the tone, and Arthur intended to make sure that his was no exception. He would be sharing the speech with the man of honour, after all. Morgana had produced a script for the pair of them, but Merlin was still clinging to his scrappy bits of paper and Arthur had crossed out a lot of Morgana’s jokes – there were children at the reception to consider.

But in the end, he found he didn’t need a script. After all, it was easy to talk about two people in love when you had the love of _your_ life right there at your side and gazing up at you adoringly.

And this time Arthur would make sure that Merlin stayed there.

Forever.

\-----

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't find a way to tag these, and they're a bit spoilery so as mentioned in the note at the start I've put these warnings at the end. Please let me know if you feel something should be added to this list:  
> Fake sex tapes being created and emailed,  
> Someone's good name being dragged through the mud through no fault of their own,  
> Gross invasion of someone's privacy,  
> There is apparent infidelity, but this turns out to be a lie.


End file.
